The Fight for Uesugi Eiri
by Frozen Midnight
Summary: When Yuki is sent into a coma because of a car accident, he is beckoned by the ghost of his first love, Yuki Kitazawa. Will Shuichi stand by and let Kitazawa take him, or will Shuichi take drastic measures to save Yuki from the ghost that haunts his heart
1. I Will Save You

_**Disclaimer****:** Sadly, I don't own Gravitation or any of its characters. I'm merely borrowing them for the purposes of this story. Please don't sue me because I'm poor and there'd be nothing to be gained from it._

_**I Will Save You**_

Shuichi Shindou, lead singer for the famous rock band Bad Luck, sat silently beside his lover's hospital bed. From what Shuichi had been told, Yuki had once again been speeding around in his car when he'd accidentally run a red light and been T-boned by an eighteen wheeler. Tohma, Mika, and the rest of Yuki's family and friends had left hours ago promising they'd return the following morning. Hiro had reluctantly left just thirty minutes ago after Shuichi had convinced him that he'd be fine by himself.

The doctors said Yuki's head injury had plunged him into a coma and they weren't sure when or if he'd wake up. When he'd first arrived at the hospital and first heard of Yuki's coma, Shuichi had yelled and screamed at the author to open his eyes and come back to him, but now matter how loud he screamed or how many tears he cried, those golden eyes refused to open.

Now here he was, sitting in the dark holding his love's hand and crying quietly. Shuichi was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn't notice Yuki's hand move slightly within his own, and even when he did notice, he thought it was his own wishful thinking influencing his imagination, and then it happened again. Shuichi's eyes widened and he look up at Yuki's face, fully expecting to see those brilliant gold eyes and that bad-ass smirk he loved so much. He was quickly disappointed to see that Yuki's eyes remained shut and no smirk resided on his lips, however, his lips were moving.

Leaning closer, Shuichi could hear a slight whisper coming from his lover's moving lips. If he'd never been a singer and his ears hadn't been so sensitive to sound, he'd never have been able to make out the words that Yuki was whispering, but he did.

Those whispered words gripped Shuichi's heart in a vice and made his blood run cold, "I'm coming… Yuki-sensei".

It was then that Shuichi realized why Yuki wouldn't wake up, the ghost that haunted his heart was beckoning him to stay, and Yuki's guilt was more than willing to oblige. Shuichi gripped Yuki's hand tighter and whispered in his lover's ear, "Yuki, it's Shu, I'm coming to get you. Don't you dare go with that bastard! Do you hear me Eiri? Don't you dare follow him!"

"Shu..i..chi…" Yuki whispered. That was all it took to firm Shuichi's resolve. Yuki Kitazawa had held Eiri in a death grip in life and in death, he'd haunted his ex-student's dreams and shattered his heart, there was no way in hell Shuichi was going to let him take Eiri's life as well.

"I'll save you Yuki, I promise." Shuichi whispered before letting go of his lover's hand and running to find a doctor. He knew his plan would take a lot of convincing and his friends probably would like it, but he wouldn't let Kitazawa take anything else from his beloved Yuki.

**_To Be Continued…_**


	2. Risking It All

_**Disclaimer****: **I do not own Gravitation or any of its characters. The belong to Maki Murakami and her associated publishers and animation groups._

___**Risking It All**_

An hour after leaving Yuki's room in search of a doctor, Shuichi returned, but this time he wasn't alone. The private room now contained Shuichi, Hiro, Tohma, a doctor, a nurse, and an extra bed.

"Are you sure about this, Shindou-san? Putting you into a drug-induced coma will be relatively simple, but we may not be able to bring you back. We don't understand much about the state of the human mind when one is in a comatose state, there's no guarantee that you can make any sort of contact with Uesugi-san's mind. I must inform you again that I find this whole idea foolish and futile." The doctor stated simply. When Shuichi Shindou had barged into his office forty-five minutes ago demanding to be put into a coma so that he could bring back his lover, the doctor had declined immediately.

Apparently Shindou-san had been expecting a negative response to his request as he immediately pull out a cell phone and spoke into it hastily. Ten minutes later Shindou-san looked on somberly as the poor doctor had a crazed American pointing a gun at his head, Tohma Seguchi grinning at him in front of an army of lawyers, and a very dangerous looking guitarist glaring at him. Needless to say the doctor, fearing for his life and career, agreed to place the singer into a comatose state. He picked up the phone and ordered a nurse to bring a gurney along with the necessary equipment to Eiri Uesugi's private room.

And now here they stood. All the waivers and legal documents had been written up and signed and they were ready to proceed. The nurse wheeled the gurney as close to Eiri's bed as the equipment permitted and Shuichi climbed into it. The singer reached across the short distance between the beds to clasp his lover's hand as the doctor and nurse hooked up the monitoring equipment and prepared the medication that would send him into a coma. "I'll hold you here Yuki and I won't let go, no matter what, I won't let you go to him." Shuichi whispered as he felt the syringe glide into a vein in his arm.

As his eyes drifted closed he was briefly aware of Hiro sitting down beside him and grabbing his free hand, "You better come back, Shu."

Shuichi could only nod slightly as darkness took him.

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_So, what'd ya think? Good? Bad? Horrible and vomit inducing? I have decided to update this fic every Tuesday before I go to work as long as I get at least 2 reviews for each chapter. If I only get one review, it'll be every other Tuesday, and if I get no reviews at all, it'll be updated whenever I get around to it… and those of you who have read my other fics know how long that could take. Also, the more reviews I get, the happier I'll be and the happier I am the more determined I am to write, which means the chapters may be longer. Just keep that in mind. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll get the next one to you soon… if you want it, of course _

_Frozen Midnight_


	3. Beckoning Ghost

_**Disclaimer****: **I don't (and never will) own Gravitation or any of its characters. They are the intellectual property of Maki Murakami and her various publishers and animation groups. I would never dream of trying to claim her characters as my own for fear of Ryuichi piloting the panda mecha and coming after me._

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_**Beckoning Ghost**_

Yuki Eiri found himself floating in a void of blackness. At least, he thought he was floating, though he could feel no external force such as water or air that might be keeping him in this hovering state. He vaguely remembered being in some sort of accident and then having his vision go dark. He tried to recall more details about what could have possibly gotten him into this situation but, no matter how hard he tried to remember, the event eluded him.

"You shouldn't strain yourself trying to remember how you got here, Eiri-kun. The fact is, you're here now and you and I can be together again." A voice said from the darkness.

"Who's there? Who are you?" Eiri demanded. He was starting to panic now, only one person had ever called him 'Eiri-kun' and Eiri wasn't sure he wanted to see that person again.

Out of the void walked a tall man with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was staring at Eiri with amusement, "Don't tell me you've forgotten me already, Eiri-kun. After all, you were the one who sent me here, you were the one that murdered me."

Eiri's eyes widened and his mouth open and closed without a sound. The older man's words hit him as surely as any physical attack would have and he curled in on himself. Suddenly he found himself sobbing uncontrollably and shaking violently.

The older man walked over to him and lifted his head up so that their eyes met, "You haven't forgotten me, have you? You remember what you did, don't you? Have you missed me, Eiri-kun? Have you missed the man you loved, the man you murdered in cold blood?" Eiri's shaking grew more violent and he tried to curl in on himself even further, but the other man wouldn't relent, "If you remember me, Eiri-kun, say my name."

Eiri's frightened, tear-filled eyes met the calm brown stare of the man about him as his lips began to move though no sound issued from them. The grip on Eiri's chin grew harder and the brown eyes grew angry, "Say the name of the man you murdered!"

"Yu… Yuki-sensei." Came the quiet, hesitant response.

A satisfied smirk appeared on Yuki Kitazawa's face, "I'm so glad you remember me, Eiri-kun. I've been watching you as you went along with your happy existence after you took my life from me."

"No, Yuki-sensei, I'm sorry for what I did. I never meant to kill you… I was scared… you were hurting me. I wasn't happy! I was miserable living without you… remembering what I'd done… I could never be happy after that! Please, forgive me!" Eiri begged.

Even as the words left his mouth, Eiri felt like they were a lie. But he hadn't been happy after Kitazawa died… had he? He felt like there was something that had changed that but he couldn't remember what it was. It didn't matter now anyway, he was back with his love, his Yuki-sensei, and there was no one else he loved more… or was there? A name hovered at the edge of his memories but it just wouldn't reveal itself.

"Forgive you?!" Yuki's voice cut through Eiri's internal contemplation, "You want me to forgive you?! You murdered me! You took my life from me! I could never forgive you for that!" With that, Yuki turned and began to walk back into the void.

"Yuki-sensei!" Eiri called out desperately.

A knowing smile made its way onto Yuki's face, unseen by the younger man behind him, he hid it before turning to face Eiri once more. "You want my forgiveness, Eiri-kun?" Eiri could only nod desperately in response so Yuki continued, "There is only one way I'll forgive you for what you did. Do you want to know what it is?"

Eiri nodded again, "What can I do, Yuki-sensei? What can I do to make you forgive me?"

"It's very simple, I want you to come with me. I want you to leave your current life behind and allow your body to die. Follow me into the afterlife and I'll forgive you." Yuki held his hand out to the man curled up before him, "So, are you coming with me or not?"

Eiri stared at his sensei's outstretched hand for several moments before nodding hesitantly, "I'm coming… Yuki-sensei."

Yuki smiled as Eiri slowly reached out towards him. Their hands were mere inches apart when a strange, determined voice echoed through the void around them, "Yuki, it's Shu, I'm coming to get you. Don't you dare go with that bastard! Do you hear me Eiri? Don't you dare follow him!"

Eiri's hand stopped moving and he stared into the void around him, trying to see the source of the voice. Suddenly memories assaulted him, memories of a beautiful and annoying boy with pink hair and wide amethyst eyes. An annoying boy that had pushed his way into Yuki Eiri's life, despite the harsh, uncaring words that had been thrown at him. The boy Yuki Eiri, and even the deeply hidden remnant of Uesugi Eiri, had come to love. "Shu… i… chi…" Eiri called hesitantly even as he looked around even more frantically for the source of the voice.

The voice came again, softer this time, but just as insistent, "I'll save you Yuki, I promise."

Meanwhile, Yuki Kitazawa had turned his back on Eiri as he looked determinedly for the boy that interrupted his plan. Finding no one, he scoffed, "Did you find yourself a toy, Eiri-kun? How sweet. So you lied to me… you don't really feel bad about what you did at all, do you? You don't really want my forgiveness at all, do you? You want to go back to that boy."

Kitazawa turned to face Eiri again and was surprised to see that he was no longer curled into a ball and sobbing but was now standing, though he was still visibly shaking. "Yuki-sensei, I do want your forgiveness. I am sorry about what I did to you, you have no idea how sorry… but I can't follow you."

Yuki let out a hollow laugh, "You don't honestly think that boy will come for you, do you? You're in a coma Eiri-kun, there's no way for him to reach you here. He'll abandon you, just like everyone else did. I've been watching you Eiri-kun, I've been watching how you treat that boy. Do you honestly think, he'd risk his life to save you? You who hurled horrible insults at him, caused him to be raped, left him all alone; do you really think he'll come for you after all that? Do you, Eiri-kun?"

As Yuki spoke, Eiri could feel his confidence waiver. He had been horrible to Shuichi, heartless even… the only way Shuichi could possibly save him would be to enter a comatose state as well and there was no way he could convince any doctor to send him into one. Not to mention that headstrong guitarist friend of his would never allow it and Eiri wasn't even sure _he_ wanted Shuichi to risk so much for him. No, there was no way Shuichi would save him, but he still refused to follow his sensei into death, he'd listen to Shuichi's plea for once.

"You're right sensei, Shuichi probably won't really come for me, but I still can't go with you. If there's any other way to make you forgive me, I'll do it, you have my word, but I can't follow you." Eiri said pleadingly, he had been haunted by guilt over his crime for so many years; he desperately needed to hear that he'd been forgiven. Maybe then, he could openly give his heart to Shuichi, without it bearing the burden of a past love lost.

A shadow crossed Yuki's face and he grinned darkly, "Anything?"

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_I got more than two reviews so here's chapter three. I got a couple comments about chapter length so, is this one long enough for you? Also, I'm not going to say that Eiri's OOC for once because I don't believe he is. I imagine that if Eiri were faced with Kitazawa again, it really would emotionally shatter him. I hope I didn't confuse anyone by calling Kitazawa "Yuki" and having Shuichi address Eiri as "Yuki" as well. I'm pretty sure most of you can assume that Shuichi would never call Kitazawa "Yuki" simply because I imagine Shuichi would rather not associate his "Yuki" with Yuki Kitazawa (cause let's face it, Yuki Eiri has an excuse to be the bastard he is… Kitazawa didn't, as far as I'm concerned anyway). I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll send me lots of wonderful, much appreciated reviews. Ja ne!_

_Frozen Midnight_


	4. My Only Wish

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I don't (and never will) own Gravitation (as much as I'd love to), it belongs to Maki Murakami and her various affiliated copyright owners._

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**_My Only Wish_**

Yuki and Eiri stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Something in Yuki's voice made Eiri want to rethink his offer, could he really do anything Yuki asked of him in order to gain his forgiveness? He'd been waiting so long for this opportunity, for this chance to rid himself of his guilt. He would do anything to gain his sensei's forgiveness.

"Anything you want me to do, I'll do, please, forgive me." Eiri said finally.

Yuki's smile broadened and he walked closer to Eiri, circling him in a manner similar to a vulture. Eiri watched him circle, his face had once again regained it's calm mask, but his golden eyes remained those of a wounded sixteen year old boy.

Slowly Yuki came to a stop before him and ran his hand down Eiri's face. He grasped the younger man's chin gently as he brought his lips close to Eiri's ear and was about to whisper something to him when a voice sounded from the void around them, "Kitazawa Yuki! Get your perverted hands off of Eiri!"

Yuki subconsciously did as the voice asked even as he and Eiri looked in the direction the voice had come from. It had sounded much closer and much more substantial than it had the first time they'd heard it. Out of the void came a very feminine looking boy. His girlish face was framed by magenta hair and his eyes glowed with amethyst fire.

Eiri's eyes grew impossibly wider as he watched his lover approach and he couldn't remember ever seeing the singer so pissed. The outfit the boy was wearing only added to the image of a very irritated, very sexy street fighter. Red and black high-tops on his feet led up to red vinyl leggings that reached up to mid-thigh and were dotted with black belts.

Shuichi's hips were covered in black spandex short-shorts with red vinyl short-shorts on top. A black belt hung at an angle from his waist with a tighter white belt and another black belt above them. A red belt-strewn vest hung from his shoulders covering a shirt of lace-like fishnet. Red and black gloves finished the ensemble. Eiri soon realized Shu was wearing a stage costume.

That's when he remembered the accident. It was their three-year anniversary but Shuichi hadn't been able to convince K and Sakano to reschedule the concert. The boy had cried and apologized until Eiri agreed to pick him up and take him out to dinner when the concert was over. Then Mizuki had called and demanded Eiri's new manuscript by the end of the week and he was nowhere near finished it yet.

He'd gone back to working on his story and lost track of time. By the time he had glanced at the clock it was fifteen minutes till the end of the concert. Eiri had immediately grabbed his car keys and raced toward the concert venue ignoring stop signs and red lights. It was going through one of those red lights that the semi had struck his car on the driver's side. Now that he remembered the impact he could hardly believe his luck at only being in a coma and not being dead.

While Eiri was staring at his lover and wandering down memory lane, Yuki was also looking at the new arrival. He had to admit, Eiri certainly had good taste in men. The boy was not only gorgeous but he was wearing the sexiest outfit Yuki had ever seen.

Shuichi was oblivious to the appraising looks he was getting from both Eiri and Kitazawa. He was far beyond angry now. Not only was Kitazawa haunting Eiri's heart and mind but now he was trying to drag him off with him into death, "You can't have Eiri, Kitazawa, he doesn't need you anymore! Get away from him!"

Yuki chuckled, "My my, Eiri-kun certainly has a ferocious guard dog. You must be Shindou Shuichi right? I've watched you cling to my Eiri-kun… it's painfully obvious that you're nothing but a bother to him. Why on earth should you have any right to make decisions about who he does and doesn't need?"

Shuichi ignored him and walked over to Eiri, "Are you alright, Eiri?" He had to stop himself from called the man he loved Yuki, looking into those golden eyes made it easier. Those weren't the eyes of Yuki Eiri, those were the eyes of the lost sixteen-year-old Uesugi Eiri.

Eiri was snapped out of his memories by Shuichi's soft loving voice. He looked down into shimmering violet eyes, eyes he'd never get tired of looking at. He couldn't stop the slight smile that forced its way to the surface, "You came for me." He said in amazement.

Shuichi smiled back at him, "Of course I came for you Eiri, I love you."

"How'd you get here?" Eiri asked quietly as he stroked Shuichi's face, trying to convince himself that the boy was really there.

"The hospital called Tohma about your accident and he told us right after he hung up. My fans weren't very happy when I rushed off stage before the last song but I'm sure Hiro and Fugisaki smoothed things over. Once I got to the hospital I refused to leave your side. I begged and begged for you to wake up, but you kept sleeping. It wasn't until after everyone was gone that you started to talk in your sleep. I heard you mumble Yuki's name and I knew what that bastard would try to do. I got Tohma, K, and Hiro to help me talk the doctor into sending me into a coma as well." Shuichi explained.

"You moron! You shouldn't have done something so dangerous!" Eiri shouted.

"I can say the same to you! Running a red light?! How stupid can you get?!" Shuichi shouted back.

"That was so I could make it to your damn concert cause I knew you wouldn't leave me the fuck alone if I broke my promise!"

"I'd have bugged you a lot more if you broke your life!"

"Well I didn't so what the hell are you yelling at me for you damn brat!"

"You yelled at me first you jerk!"

"Ahem! Sorry to interrupt, but I have a debt to collect on and I'm damn well going to get it!" Yuki Kitazawa had been silently watching his ex-student and the young singer.

Both Eiri and Shuichi turned their attention to the forgotten man, but it was Shuichi that spoke, "You're not getting anything from Eiri, you've already taken more than you deserve. Leave him alone!"

"If Eiri wants my forgiveness, he's going to have to give me something in return." Yuki replied calmly.

"You're the one that should be begging Eiri for forgiveness, you're the one that raped him. You knew how much he loved you and still you did that to him! You don't deserve anything from him!"

Yuki's eyes hardened and he approached the small boy, "You little brat! You know nothing!" He raised his hand to strike only to fine his wrist in a vice like grip. Looking up his eyes met the cold, murderous gaze of his former student.

"Don't touch him!" Eiri yelled throwing his sensei away from his lover.

Shuichi watched in silence, he was shocked by Yuki's outburst more than by Eiri's protectiveness. Kitazawa seemed like a very cold, calculating individual, this sudden, inexplicable anger seemed very out of character.

"Kitzawa," Shuichi's quiet voice broke through the silence that had fallen over the three, "do you love Eiri?"

**_To Be Continued…_**

_Well, what did you think? Ah the suspense… gotta love it. We still don't know what Yuki's__ going to ask for do we? Oh well, maybe we'll find out next chapter. Review for the next chapter. Ja!_

_Frozen Midnight_


	5. Let's Make A Deal

_**Disclaimer****:** I don't own Gravitation and never will (much to my disappointment). Gravitation and all its characters belong solely to Maki Murakami and whoever she signed over the rights to. Anyone accusing me of trying to pass this fic off as a my own original creation will promptly have this disclaimer shoved down their esophagus, have their mouth taped shut with duck-tape and be forced to read and/or listen to someone else read 100,000,000,000,000 fanfics where Eiri and Shuichi marry and love women… that's right people, you'll be forced to read Gravi hetero pairings, please don't make me do that to you._

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_**Let's Make a Deal**_

_'Do you love Eiri?'_ That simple question kept echoing in Yuki's mind even as he stumbled backwards in shock. Eiri was staring at him wide-eyed in shock but it was Shuichi's gaze that he locked with. The young man was staring at him with calm amethyst eyes that were filled with understanding and… was that sympathy?

Yuki couldn't begin to fathom what emotions could be viewed in his own eyes at the moment, but whatever they were, they seemed to stir something in the young singer he was staring at. Suddenly, those purple eyes grew determined and he shifted his gaze to Eiri who was still frozen in shock.

"I think you've been forgiven Eiri." The young boy said quietly.

His voice seemed to snap Eiri out of his shocked daze and he turned to look at the pink haired singer, "What are you talking about? Shuichi I haven't been…"

Before Eiri could finish his sentence, Shuichi interrupted him, "Kitazawa has already forgiven you…" then he turned his harsh gaze on Yuki and bit out sharply, "Hasn't he?"

Yuki could only nod dumbly. He realized he had never really been angry with Eiri for shooting him in the first place, it had all be just a… just a what? Why had he done all this?

Meanwhile Shuichi had turned his gaze back to Eiri, "We should go back now Eiri, Tohma and Hiro are probably worried about us and I have no idea how long I've been here. You go back first, I have something I need to say to Kitazawa and then I'll return to the waking world ok?"

"Shuichi, I think you should…" Eiri started protesting but was once again interrupted by his lover.

"It'll be fine Eiri, I'll be right behind you. Just tell Hiro not to worry and I'll wake up before you know it."

"You promise you'll be right behind me?" Eiri asked while trying very hard not to sound worried.

"Of course. Now go!" Shuichi replied. Eiri stared at the singer for a few more moments before turning and disappearing into the void. Once the blonde head of hair was out of sight, Shuichi turned toward me again, "You do, don't you? Love Eiri."

Yuki nodded, "I do, I have since the moment I met him when he was sixteen."

"You did what you did because you loved him didn't you? It's all very clear to me now. When you love someone, you always want them with you. You want them to depend on you, to think only of you. You want to keep them locked away from everyone else so that their entire world revolves around you.

"From what Mika and Tohma have told me, Eiri was a boy that everyone loved to be around. They told me he'd had no trouble making friends in New York, that he was always around people. He loved you and you knew that, but he still spent so much time with these other people, people that weren't you. These strangers got to talk to him about things you didn't, learn things about him that you couldn't, and that bothered you.

"Eventually you decided you needed to find a way to keep him with you and only you. You decided you'd break him, you'd break him into so many pieces he'd think no one could ever love him anymore, but you still would. The more you thought about your plan though, the more you realized you might break him into so many pieces that even your love wouldn't be able to fix him again, so you decided you'd just scare him.

"You'd tell some neighborhood thugs that you'd sell them a nice piece of ass to fuck for ten dollars and just when it looked like they'd rape him, you'd suddenly change your mind and step in like some hero out of a comic book… but it didn't end up that way. You got drunk and your desire clouded your judgment, you became a villain in your own plot. Your alcohol drowned mind decided in might be fun to watch Eiri be raped, but you didn't count on one of those thugs bringing a gun, you didn't count on a triple homicide with you as one of the victims." Shuichi recited this story calmly and without a trace of doubt despite that fact that he hadn't known Yuki at all in life and only briefly in death.

Yuki was beyond shocked to hear such an accurate account of his own misguided plot, "How do you know all that?" he managed to utter.

Shuichi's gaze softened only slightly, "Because I love him too. I often thing of ways I could keep him with me, to make him forget everyone else exists, but I love him more than you do."

Yuki's eyes narrowed in anger, "How dare you say that?! You know nothing of the depth of my emotions, don't you dare presume you do."

Shuichi simply met his angry gaze with calm confidence, "I don't presume anything, I _know_ I love him more than you do."

"Is this all you wanted? Did you just feel the urge to point out all my mistakes and flawed plans?!"

"I'll give it to you." Shuichi replied quietly.

"Give me what?!"

"What you were going to ask Eiri for. You were going to ask him to let you take over my body, weren't you? You can have it, for a week. I'll give you a chance to prove to me that you love Eiri more than I do, if you prove it and make Eiri admit that he loves you, I'll take your place here and you can remain in my body permanently, do we have a deal?"

Yuki looked at the pink-haired boy in silent amazement. This child was going to allow him to borrow his body, allow a man who in life had proven to be more than untrustworthy to assume his life, it was too impossible to believe, "What's the catch?"

"You can't sleep with Eiri and can only kiss him for a few seconds and if I see any tongue action happening, you'll think Hell is Heaven when I'm through with you. You're also not allowed to do anything to hurt Eiri or any of my friends and you're not allowed to ruin my career. Oh, and don't you dare do anything perverted to my body while you're in it. Do we have a deal?" Shuichi asked as he held his hand out towards Yuki.

Yuki stared down at the outstretched hand and then into the boy's eyes. There was no trace of trickery or deceit and he met Yuki's gaze evenly. Finally, after a few more minutes of deliberation, Yuki took the boy's hand in his own, "We have a deal."

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_I know, my disclaimer was really really long but I felt like writing it and it is MY fanfic. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you're beginning to realize the suspense is for your own good, it builds excitement and stimulates your imagination… so damnit put the knives and sporks down! You can't kill me because if you do, you'll never know what happens… it'll be the cliffhanger that never ends… and you'd hate that wouldn't you? Of course you would. (Not to mention I have enough readers who adore this fic that if one of you kills me, the others would hunt you down and torture you… and being attacked by a jilted yaoi fan, is not something you want.) Can you tell I'm really talkative today? Alright, I'll stop. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now you know the drill, review, review, review!_

_Frozen Midnight_


	6. Back to Life

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I don't own Gravitation (never have and sadly, never will). Gravi and all its related characters belong to Maki Murakami, I just happen to be a devoted fan with an overactive imagination. Please refrain from sueing me, sending Rage and K after me, or attacking me with sporks, it would be much apprecaited._

_**Back To Life**_

After regaining his body, Eiri took the time to get reaquainted with it. His limbs felt heavy, far heavier than he remembered them being. He supposed that when you spent hours or even days as an insubstantial product of your own imagination floating in a corporeal void your body was supposed to feel a bit burdonsome. He was slightly shocked that he wasn't being bombarded by pain, he had been in a car accident after all. Of course, he was in a hospital so they may have given him pain medication.

No doubt Shuichi and Tohma had accosted the doctors numerous times to make sure any pain medication he was giving didn't interact badly with his various depression and ulcer medications. Suddenly his eyes bolted open and he glanced worriedly around the room. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Shuichi's body lying in a hospital bed beside his own.

"Eiri-san? Are you alright?" Eiri tore his gaze away from the pink haired boy and turned to the other side of his bed towards his brother-in-law who was staring at him with a worried turquoise gaze.

"Tohma, I'm in a hospital and I just woke up from a coma, do you really need to ask if I'm alright?" Eiri replied exasperatedly, he'd never been one to suffer stupid questions.

Tohma, being used to Eiri's attitude, simply smiled, "It's wonderful to see that your accident didn't dent your personality, Eiri-san."

Eiri was about to make a sarcastic reply, when another voice broke in, "You're awake, so why isn't Shuichi?"

Eiri turned his head back towards where Shuichi lay beside him and finally took notice of the singer's best friend, Hiroshi Nakano sitting there staring at him with a worried gaze, "Shuichi found me in... whereever we were, he sent me back and said he'd be right behind me." All three men turned their gaze to the pink haired singer and hoped his eyes would open soon.

Meanwhile, back in the void, Yuki let go of Shuichi's hand and began to walk in the direction of where Eiri had gone. Before he had taken even four steps Shuichi called out to him, "Kitazawa, if you hurt Eiri either emotionally or physically, you'll regret it."

Yuki turned around fully intent on taunting the smaller man, but the taunt died on his tongue when he took in the deadly serious gaze the singer was directing at him. At that moment he had no doubt in his mind that Shuichi would destroy him without hesitation should any harm come to Eiri. Unable to retaliate against such a serious request, Yuki simply nodded and disappeared, leaving Shuichi alone in the darkness.

Kitazawa's first response to being in a living body again was one of pure annoyance. He'd forgotten what it felt like to have a physical body, how constricting it was. He slowly and methodically began reaquainting himself with his senses. First he listened, he took in the sounds of squeaking shoes; the rumbling of gurneys going down the halls; the abrupt ding of an elevator; the distant conversations of doctors, nurses, and patients; the beeping and buzzing of equipment; and finally the long forgotten sound of his own heartbeat and breathing.

He could feel things again too. The scratchy feel of starched linen beneath his bare arms and legs, the feeling of his hands being held, and the wonderful softness of the pillow beneath his head. His throat was horribly dry, 'So much for enjoying my sense of taste.' he thought with mild annoyance, he'd be sure to take care of indulging his taste buds once he was out of this hospital. The smell of disinfectant left no doubt in his mind that he was definately in a hospital.

Eventually, he decided it was time to test the last of his five senses and hesitantly opened his eyes. An unimpressive white-tile ceiling met his gaze but was soon obscured by a man's face. Startling navy-blue eyes stared down at him. The eyes were set into a handsome, fine-boned face surrounded by a fall of long, dark red hair. At first the face held relief and a good-natured smile, but those only lasted a second. As soon as those navy eyes met his own, relief faded into an icy gaze and the smile dissolved into an irritated frown.

This mystery man seemed vaguely familiar to him and he wracked his memory for where he'd seen him before. Suddenly it occured to him, this was Shuichi Shindou's best friend. He'd seen the man on occasion when his spirit had been following Eiri around, though he couldn't quite remember the man's name, he was sure it'd come to him eventually. In the meantime, he had more important things to worry about. Turning his head away from Shuichi's friend, his eyes settled briefly on Tohma Seguichi, not at all surprised to see that the ex-rock star was still following Eiri around like a desperate mother-hen, 'Some things never change.'

Finally his eyes landed on Eiri, who was looking at him with annoyance which Yuki was going to assume was a mask for his worry, this mask didn't cover Eiri's eyes though. Yuki willed Shuichi's mouth into a smile and watched the effect this had on Eiri. Yuki's breath caught as a light seemed to come on in his ex-student's eyes, a light he'd never seen before, and the beginnings of a smile pulled at the corners of the writer's mouth.

Jealousy began to well up in Yuki. He had often been able to make his student smile at him, he'd been able to drag Eiri along whereever he wanted like a puppy on a leash, but he'd never been able to make his eyes light up like that. It was then that he made a decision, he'd use the next week to make Eiri fall for him all over again and then Eiri would forget about Shuichi, he'd never even have to know he was choosing Yuki Kitazawa over Shuichi Shindou. He squeezed Eiri's hand and smiled inwardly when Eiri squeezed back and smiled, there was definately no way he would ever lose to Shuichi Shindou.

_**To Be Continued...**_

_Sorry, I know it's short. Are you all on the edge of your seats? What's up with Hiro? Will Eiri be able to tell the difference between Kitazawa and Shuichi? Which one will he choose? The possibilities are endless and even I don't know what will happen next... so stay tuned and don't forget to review._

_Frozen Midnight_


	7. Feels Like Home

_**Disclaimer**__**: **__I don't own Gravitation, it belongs to Maki Murakami and her related affiliates. Please don't sue me as you won't get very much out of it._

_**Feels Like Home**_

According to Tohma, the driver of the truck that had hit Eiri had not actually made a direct impact to the car. The driver had seen Eiri coming towards the intersection and had turned the wheel just in time to avoid a direct impact. The truck had hit the side of the car but glanced off. According to the doctors, the impact had force Eiri's head into the side of the door, resulting in his head injury but other than that he was unharmed by the collision.

Both Tohma and Yuki had told Eiri it was very lucky he hadn't been more seriously hurt, Eiri had simply shrugged it off and expressed shock at Shuichi lecturing him. Granted, Shuichi was really Yuki in Shuichi's body, but Eiri didn't need to know that. After the lecture was through, Eiri and Yuki signed their release papers and made their way home.

During the car ride back to their apartment, Shuichi was curiously quiet. The last time Eiri remembered him being this silent was when they were on the way to the amusement park for their first date. "Oi, brat, is something wrong?" he asked.

Shuichi didn't respond, just kept staring out the car window as if he hadn't heard the question at all, "Brat?" he queried again, still no answer.

"Shindou Shuichi!"

Yuki suddenly snapped his head away from the window and turned to look at Eiri, he'd almost forgotten he was in Shuichi's body, "Sorry Eiri, I was just thinking."

"Yeah well, cut it out, thinking isn't for people like you. Besides, what the hell could you have to think about?"

"I'll have you know, I think about a lot of things."

"Other than me and Sakuma-san?" Eiri asked curiously.

"Of course! You and Sakuma-san are not all I think about, you're not the center of my world you know!" Shuichi yelled and turned back to the window.

Eiri was shocked to say the least, Shuichi had never spoken to him like that, in fact, he'd always acted like nothing but Eiri mattered to him. Something wasn't right here, 'Maybe he's just upset about the thing with Yuki.' Shaking his head he ignored it, Shuichi was just in a bad mood, everything would be better once they were home.

Apparently not, no sooner had the door to the apartment closed than Shuichi took off and barricaded himself into the spare bedroom. Eiri was about to go after him when the phone rang, sighing he picked it up, "What do you want?"

"Eiri, it's Hiro."

"I'll ask again, what do you want?"

"Something was wrong with Shuichi at the hospital, have you noticed anything?" Hiro asked.

"He's been acting a bit odd, but Shuichi's always weird." Eiri replied.

"No, this is different. When he woke up at the hospital and looked at me, he didn't know who I was. I'm telling you, Shuichi's not Shuichi. Eiri, I know you won't ever admit it, but you really care about Shuichi. I know you pay more attention to him then you let on, test him. Find out what's up with him."

"What makes you so sure something's wrong? How do you know he's not just upset? We did encounter Kitazawa earlier." Eiri responded.

Hiro sighed on the other line, "Let me ask you something. When Shuichi met Kitazawa, did he let Kitazawa upset him?"

"No, I think Kitazawa was the one upset."

"Then why would Kitazawa upset him now? Shuichi may be an idiot, but he's a damned determined idiot when he wants to be. He made up his mind a long time ago to not let your past with Kitazawa get under his skin, he refused to let that bastard come between you. I've known Shu for years, he'd never change his mind about something like that." Hiro urged, "Eiri, I'm telling you, something's not right with him."

"Eiri? Who are you talking to?" Yuki asked as he came into the room.

Eiri glanced at Shuichi then turned his attention back to the telephone, "Right, I'll look into it. Thanks." Then he quickly hung up.

"Eiri, who was that?" Yuki asked again.

"No one important, just Tohma. He asked me to look into what Mika might want for their wedding anniversary. Anyway, nice to see you're speaking to me again, is your period over or something?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny Eiri… I just came to get dinner." Yuki responded coldly. He wasn't used to Eiri talking down to him like this but he assumed it was a good sign that he was higher on Eiri's affection list than Shuichi was.

"Why don't we go out?" Eiri asked quietly turning his eyes away from Shuichi.

Yuki balked, in all the time he'd been watching Eiri, he'd never seen the man actually suggest a date of his own free will. It was no problem pulling off the shocked expression Shuichi would've had had he been here. "A…alright Eiri, let's go out." Yuki replied.

"Right… let's get going then brat." With that Eiri grabbed his keys and left the apartment, he was so lost in his thoughts he barely even paid attention to whether Shuichi was following him, 'I don't know what's wrong with you Shu, but I'm definitely going to find out.'

_**To Be Continued…**_

_Yeah… sorry if this got confusing. There were parts where I wasn't sure whether I should refer to Yuki-in-Shu's-body as Yuki or as Shuichi. From now on, unless we're in the void, just assume that when I refer to Shuichi, it's actually Yuki in his body. I think we might find out how the real Shuichi's doing in the next chapter but I'm not sure yet. Don't forget to review! -_

_Frozen Midnight_


	8. A Ghost of Suspicion

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ Sadly, Gravitation and it's characters aren't mine. They belong to Maki Murakami and whoever she gives the license to. Please, refrain from suing me._

_**Note**__**: **__Be sure to read the A/N at the end of this chapter, otherwise you may have to wait longer for the next chapter._

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_**A Ghost of Suspicion**_

Dinner wasn't going quite the way Eiri wanted it to. He had hoped he'd be able to glean information from Shuichi by listening to his idle chatter, but Shuichi wasn't talking at all. He was quietly sitting on the other side of the table looking over the menu with rapt interest. Maybe Hiro was right, Shuichi never read menus, he just let whoever was with him order him something. He trusted them to know what he liked. Besides, this was Shuichi's favorite restaurant; he ordered the same thing every time they came.

Shuichi's interest in the menu wasn't the only thing making Eiri suspicious; he hadn't even batted an eye at where Eiri had taken him. The normal Shuichi would have pounced on him and gone on and on about how wonderful his Eiri was. The silence was too much to bear, "Shu, why don't you order your favorite? I don't mind the cost." Eiri suggested. It was a subtle test, Shuichi's favorite item at this restaurant was Chicken Agemono, the cheapest item on the menu. If Hiro was right, if the person in Shuichi's body, wasn't Shuichi, he'd definitely think Shuichi's favorite item was the most expensive thing on the menu.

Meanwhile, Yuki was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When he was still a spirit, he had always watched Eiri. He knew all his favorite food, favorite music, favorite everything, but he knew nothing about Shuichi Shindou, other than the fact the Eiri considered his music substandard and annoying. He already got the feeling that Eiri suspected something was up. He had to find a way to avoid suspicion, "Why don't you order for me Eiri, you know what I like?"

Eiri frowned, "Stupid brat, why the hell should I order for you? You know what you like, I can't be expected to know what you like."

"We're supposed to be on a date and you just go right back to being an ass again!" Yuki yelled back.

"It's not my fault you're too much a moron to order for yourself. I guess you just won't eat then." Eiri replied while calmly reading over his menu again.

Yuki was just about to retort when the waiter appeared, "May I take your order, gentlemen?"

Eiri set his menu down and turned to the waiter, "I'll have the tempura shrimp and a bowl of miso soup." The waiter nodded and turned to Shuichi. Eiri also turned toward Shuichi, watching the pink-haired singer in mute interest.

Yuki closed his menu and looked at Eiri watching him with an amused smirk. 'Just keep smirking Eiri-kun, I'm not going back into that void that easily.' Then he turned his attention to the waiter and put on his more flirtatious smile, "I'll have the ten piece sashimi." The waiter blushed and nodded before heading off to fill their order.

Once the waiter had disappeared, Yuki turned back to his dinner companion. He was surprised to see that Eiri's smirk had grown but he was otherwise unaffected by Shuichi's flirting with the waiter. 'Proof again that Eiri-kun feels nothing for Shindou. This is going to be easy. Better say sayonara to you body, Shuichi-kun.'

Meanwhile, Shuichi stood nearby their table, invisible to everyone. He'd found that being a spirit was remarkably liberating as far as spying went and he'd been watching Eiri and Yuki ever since they had woken up at the hospital. He'd noticed Eiri wasn't acting like he usually did. First he takes Yuki to Shuichi's favorite restaurant and then volunteers to _not_ complain about the cost of his favorite dish. This was unheard of, normally, whenever they came to this restaurant, Eiri would throw a fit about Shuichi ordering such an inexpensive item in such a nice place and he'd bring it up again and again all night.

Shuichi had been further outraged when Yuki had used _his_ body to openly flirt with that waiter. In front of Eiri no less! Shuichi only had eyes for Eiri, as far as he was concerned, there wasn't a man or woman on the planet as beautiful or intelligent as Eiri Uesugi. And then Yuki had ordered sashimi! Shuichi hated seafood… how dare that bastard do that to his poor taste buds.

What hurt Shuichi the most though, was Eiri's apparent change of heart. He seemed to actually be worried about Yuki, to actually care about what was wrong with him. True, Eiri hadn't reacted to Yuki's open flirting, but Eiri hated making a scene anywhere, and he certainly wouldn't make anyone think they were lovers in public. Shuichi sighed, he had hoped Eiri would notice the difference between him and Yuki right off the bat, but only Hiro had noticed that quickly. Maybe there was no replacing Yuki in Eiri's heart.

Shuichi quickly shook those thoughts out of his head; there was no way he could give up! Eiri needed him and he needed Eiri, Yuki Kitazawa was just a speed bump in their relationship and Eiri _would_ discover the truth. It may take him all week, but in the end Shuichi knew Eiri would realize what was going on. Now all Shuichi had to do was find some way to make his presence known to Eiri, but how? He was just a spirit. He definitely needed to think.

He turned back to the couple at the table just in time to see Yuki stand up an storm off towards the bathroom's in _his _body. Shuichi could only assume that they'd argued again while he'd been lost in his thoughts. Eiri was now staring at the empty seat Yuki had just vacated, a slight frown on his beautiful face.

Shuichi made his way over to stand in front of the author, glad he was a spirit for once because he wasn't hampered by the dinner table. He knew Eiri was looking right through him, that Eiri didn't even know he was there, but that didn't matter. He'd find a way to make Eiri acknowledge that he was there, even if he had to haunt him for the entire week. He knew Eiri loved him, he knew Eiri would figure out that something was wrong, he just needed to find some way to make Eiri realize exactly what was going on.

'I'll definitely find a way to let you know I'm here Eiri, I will.' The singer slowly leaned forward and gently kissed the writer's unsuspecting lips. Then he faded out, back into the void to think.

If he had stayed just a moment longer, Shuichi would have seen Eiri's eyes widen and raise a shaky hand to his lips.

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

_Well? How am I doing so far? Do I still have you attention? I'm thinking of uping my review request, since you guys have been so wonderful about giving me at least two per chapter. Think you can manage six reviews per chapter? And I don't want to see six reviews from the same person either… that's cheating. I know there are more than six people that read this story, I'd love to hear from all of you. If I get six reviews from six different reviewers for every chapter by the Friday after I post it, I'll give you a new chapter every Tuesday as usual, four reviews, it'll be every other Tuesday, two reviews and it'll be every third Tuesday, not reviews… it'll be whenever I get around to it. Think you can handle that? I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter. Don't forget to review! -_

_Frozen Midnight_


	9. A Plan Takes Shape

_**Disclaimer**__**: **__I don't own Gravitation or its characters; they belong to Maki Murakami and all related affiliates. If you think I should own Gravitation, please sign the petition below - (just kidding… whimpers__please don't sue me)._

_**A/N**__**: **__To those of you who think I'm being a review we for basing my update schedule on how many reviews I get, I'm sorry you feel that way. The reason I ask for reviews in exchange for posting my story every week, is because I have major problems with writer's block. Why do you think it usually takes me so long to update my other stories? However, I discovered that the more reviews I get the more motivated I am to write, because I know there are people reading my story who are depending on me to get it to them. I love this story and I don't want it to become a victim of my chronic writer's block. If you don't want to review this story, you don't have to… but if you truly enjoy this story and truly want more of it, please let me know every chapter… so far, this is the only working solution I've found to my writer's block I'm still working on finding others. Anyways, I just wanted the chance to explain why I'm asking for reviews. Enjoy the chapter_

* * *

**_A Plan Takes Shape_**

Yuki stared at Shuichi's reflection in the bathroom mirror. There was no doubt about it, he had definitely seen the spirit of Shindou Shuichi standing near their table in the restaurant. He had been arguing with Eiri over Shuichi's hatred of seafood and the ordering of sashimi when Yuki had caught a faint glimmer beside their table. And there, in the light of the chandelier, was the see-through form of Shuichi.

Yuki had immediately rushed into the bathroom, he was afraid Eiri might spot the spirit too and immediately know what was going on. This was all too impossible to fathom. When Yuki had been a spirit he hadn't been able to manifest at all, regardless of how hard he tried. 'Maybe he hadn't manifested, maybe only I could see him because I'm in his body. Yeah, that's gotta be it, there's no way that moron could figure out how to do something that even _I_ couldn't do.' Yuki thought to himself as he splashed cold water on his face.

After drying his face and taking one last look at Shuichi's reflection, Yuki made his way back out into the restaurant. He saw Eiri sitting exactly where he had been before only now his eyes were wide and one of his hands was raised to his mouth, "Eiri, what's wrong?" Yuki asked as he made his way back to his seat.

His voice seemed to snap Eiri out of his thoughts and the author quickly lowered his hand and shook his head, "It's nothing, I just thought I felt something but it was just my imagination."

Just as Yuki was about to question Eiri about what he might have felt, the waiter returned bearing their food. It'd been forever since Yuki had been able to eat anything, especially sushi. Even when he'd been alive and living in New York, he had very rarely treated himself to sushi, which had always been his favorite food, especially sashimi. Deciding to question Eiri later, Yuki quickly began eating.

It wasn't until he was halfway through his meal that he noticed Eiri staring at him, "What's wrong? Do I have rice on my face or something?"

Eiri shook his head and his golden eyes locked on Shuichi's lavender ones, "I'm just amazed that you're eating that, you hate seafood, especially sushi."

Yuki wracked his brain for what Shuichi would do in this situation, he'd been watching Eiri for years he had to have picked up _something_ about the singer. Finally he opted for Shuichi's I'm-just-an-innocent-idiot-don't-suspect-me-of-anything pose. Rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously he replied, "Well, ya see, the other day Sakuma-san said that sushi was really really good, so I tried it again, and discovered it _was_ really good. I guess my taste buds changed."

"Hmm." Was the only response Eiri gave as he turned back to his dinner. He wasn't buying that excuse, not for a second. He remembered exactly how he had discovered Shuichi hated seafood.

It had been one of the rare nights when Eiri didn't have a deadline and Shuichi didn't have a concert or a late recording session. Eiri had tried to be nice to the singer and had made Tekka Maki for the two of them for dinner. Shuichi had realized how hard Eiri must have worked to make the sushi himself and had kept quiet about his dislike of seafood and had tried very hard to eat it. Unfortunately, as soon as the first roll hit the singer's tongue, Shuichi had become violently sick an had spent the rest of the night leaning over the toilet. He'd apologized for days about being unable to eat Eiri's wonderful meal, _"I guess my stomach just wasn't built to house fish."_ He'd said with a nervous smile.

Looking up at the Shuichi currently sitting across from him there was no hint of the boy getting sick any time soon, in fact, he was eating the sashimi like it was the last meal he'd ever eat. 'I'll ask him about it when we get home.' Eiri decided and turned his attention back to his own meal.

Meanwhile, back in the void, the real Shuichi sat contemplating his situation. He had to think of some way to let Eiri know he was there, but how? Shuichi had only been a spirit for a few hours; he knew nothing of how to do any of the classic ghost behavior. Deciding that the void was a decidedly depressing place to think, especially when he was trying to be optimistic, Shuichi opted to go haunt the apartment for a while.

A mere thought later and Shuichi was standing in the living room of his and Eiri's apartment. He walked silently through the rooms, before finally ending up in their bedroom. He lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Without thinking he reached beside him for the framed photo of him and Eiri that sat on the nightstand. It was something he always did when he was trying to work out something complicated about their relationship and now he did it without even thinking.

Holding the photo above his head where he could see it, Shuichi stared at picture-Eiri's golden eyes, "There's got to be some way to let you know I'm here…"

Then suddenly it hit him, he had picked up the picture… he had _picked up_ the picture. Quickly snapping his head to the side he looked into the full-length mirror that stood in a corner on the other side of the room. Sure enough, the framed photograph was floating in midair, and Shuichi finally thought of a plan.

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_So, what do you think? I know it's a bit short but I thought that was a good place to end it. The next chapter will have Eiri and Yuki coming home, what on earth could Shuichi have planned for them? We haven't even gotten through a full day yet in this story and Yuki's still got a week to occupy Shuichi's body… will Eiri realize what's going on before it's too late? Guess you're going to have to keep reading to find out._

_ Frozen Midnight _


	10. I'm With You

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I'm sure you're used to this by now but just to be safe, I don't own Gravitation or any of it's characters. Shuichi, Yuki and the other characters as well as the original story and remixes are the creative genius of Maki Murakami and we love her for them._

_**A/N: **Minna! I'm so, so, unbelieveably sorry I didn't post this yesterday. I had a bit of a rough week and I was trying to relax yesterday and posting this chapter just slipped my mind until I got to work and realized what day it was and that I hadn't posted a chapter. Please, please forgive me! bows numerous times In exchange for your forgiveness, I'll do my best to make the next chapter a lot longer._

* * *

_**I'm With You**_

Eiri and Yuki returned to the apartment after finishing their dinner. Eiri was more suspicious than ever and Yuki was on the defensive. Shuichi had placed the picture of him and Eiri back on the nightstand where it belonged and was lying on the couch when the couple returned. He had already thought up the perfect plan to make both Eiri and Yuki aware of his presence, now he just had to put his plan into motion.

"Shuichi, I know you were lying about the sushi." Eiri stated as soon as the door closed behind them.

"What are you talking about, Eiri? I told you Sakuma-san told me it was good so I tried it." Yuki replied nervously.

Eiri pushed him back against the door, his hands on either side of the singer's head, "So you're saying that you'll eat something that makes you physically sick when Sakuma-san suggests it to you but you won't eat it when I spend two hours making it for you?"

"You probably put too much vinegar in the sushi you made." Yuki replied as he ducked out from between Eiri's arms and made his way towards the bedroom.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, brat?" Eiri queried.

"I'm going to bed, I'm tired. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah, I do. Your bed is over there, good night." Eiri pointed to the couch and while Shuichi stared at him in shock, he made his way into the bedroom then closed and locked the door behind him.

Yuki was stunned. Eiri was making him sleep on the _couch_… it was impossible. The real Shuichi smirked and then followed Eiri into the bedroom, easily gliding through the locked door leaving Yuki standing alone in the hallway.

Realizing he wasn't going to be sleeping in a bed tonight, Yuki decided to explore the apartment before settling in on the couch. His hope was that in his explorations he'd discover something that would give him a window into the real Shuichi's personality. He also had to familiarize himself with the apartment; it was hard to care about a building's floor plan when you could simply float through the walls.

So far, he knew the location of the living room and bedroom and a quick walk revealed the kitchen and bathroom. This left two rooms to explore. He walked towards the nearest closed door and opened it. The room was clean and organized, a row of bookshelves covered the wall to his left, two large picture windows took up the wall right in front of him, and a couch was set against the wall to the right.

Sitting just in front of the bookshelves was a large desk with a laptop sitting open on top of it. Yuki recognized this room as Eiri's study. He silently approached the desk and began opening drawers. One drawer held cigarettes and a collection of four silver lighters, all with a photo sticker of Eiri and Shuichi on it, another held a dictionary and other reference books a writer may have need off. The last drawer held at least 20 music magazines and all the CDs Bad Luck had ever released. Yuki picked up one of the magazines and leafed through it, sure enough there was an entire biography page on Shuichi Shindou:

Introducing Bad Luck's Vocalist

**_Name_:** Shindou Shuichi

**_Gender_:** Male

**_Birthday_:** April 16

**_Blood Type_:** A

**_Height_:** 165 cm (5'4")

**_Weight_:** 51 kg (112 lbs.)

**_Hair Color:_** Pink

**_Eye Color_:** Violet

**_Shoe Size_:** Mens 7

**_Favorite Singer:_** Sakuma Ryuichi

**_Favorite Bands_:** Nittle Grasper, Yellow Magic Orchestra, T.M. Revolution, and B'z

**_Favorite Color_:** Orange

**_Favorite Food_:** Strawberry Pocky

**_Least Favorite Food_:** Seafood

The article went on to describe Shuichi's family life, his relationship with romance novelist Yuki Eiri, and his relationship with his fellow band mates Nakano Hiroshi and Fujisaki Suguru. It was then followed by Hiroshi and Suguru's profiles. Yuki was amazed at what these magazines could find out, but he was thankful for the details. With Shuichi's profile and Hiroshi and Suguru's descriptions of the singer, Yuki would have no problem pretending to be him for the next week and longer. It also allowed him to think up the perfect plan for getting rid of Shuichi's lingering spirit. Happy with his accomplishments, Yuki grabbed a blanket and pillow from the closet (the room he hadn't explored yet) and settled down on the couch.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Eiri was already lying in bed, eyes closed, attempting to sleep. Unbeknownst to him, Shuichi was lying next to him watching him sleep. Upon entering the bedroom Eiri had immediately gotten changed and climbed into bed. He looked exhausted and Shuichi decided he wouldn't execute his plan until tomorrow; he'd give Eiri time to relax.

Eventually Shuichi drifted off to sleep himself. He never saw Eiri open his eyes and survey the room. The writer had felt eyes on him since the moment he'd locked the door but had resisted urge to look around for someone. He was starting to suspect that Kitazawa's spirit had followed him from his coma into the waking world. Maybe that's why Shuichi was acting strange, maybe Kitazawa was periodically taking over Shuichi's body. There had been times throughout dinner when Shuichi had seemed to be his normal self and then times when he'd seemed to be someone else entirely.

'Shuichi's just the type of moron that would let himself get possessed by a ghost. The best thing to do it just give Kitazawa time to show his presence then I can take care of him and Shuichi and I can get back to our lives.' This was Eiri's last thought before he finally fell asleep.

_**To Be Continued…**_

_There you go, chapter 10. Now we've got three plans in the works; Shuichi's, Yuki's and now Eiri's. What will happen to our favorite couple? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you review._

_Frozen Midnight_

_P.S.: Shuichi's bio info, with the exception of his least favorite food, was taken from _en./wiki/ShuichiShindou _._

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	11. A Plan In Motion

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ Sadly, I do not own Gravitation or any of its characters, I am merely an adoring fan. Maki Murakami is the owner of this series and all of its crazy (but loveable) characters._

* * *

_**A Plan In Motion**_

"Eiri! Eiri! Eiriiii!" a loud voice screamed as Eiri was crushed between the mattress of his bed and a very energetic purpled-eyed vocalist. This situation brought about Eiri's first official thought of the day, _'Who the fuck taught him to pick locks?' _which was followed by a few more, not so pleasant thoughts ofwhat he would do to said person once he found them.

The writer's thoughts of torture and dismemberment were rudely interrupted by a voice from above, quite literally, "Eiri! Were you planning to sleep all day?" Yuki asked from his place on top of the writer.

"Why do you care?" Came Eiri's annoyed response. Having Shuichi on top of him was just fine under normal circumstances, but definitely not while both of them were fully clothed and when Eiri was trying to sleep.

"It's bad for your health to sleep all the time… besides, I wanted us to go for a walk." Yuki whined to the best of his ability. He wasn't used to being hyper, let alone this early in the morning, _'How the hell does Shindou do this every day?'_ The magazine's he'd found in Eiri's desk the night before had proved to be remarkably useful. Not only did they outline Shuichi's likes and dislikes, but combined they created a complete psychological profile of the boy.

"It's bad for your health to be stupid all the time, but you're still alive, aren't you?"

"I may act stupid, but that doesn't mean I am, besides…" Yuki's voice dropped in pitch and took on a distinctly seductive tone as he leaned down closer to the now suspicious Eiri, "you think my stupidity's cute." Eiri could only watch as the singer drew ever closer. This wasn't the first time Shuichi had tried to be seductive, this was just the first time the boy had actually succeeded.

As Shuichi drew steadily closer, Eiri's eyes drifted closed. He could feel the boy's breath against his neck. He was in pure heaven, he had to will himself not to grab Shuichi and ravage him right then and there, all the held him back was his own curiosity about what his sexy little singer might do next.

Yuki leaned forward until his lips were right against Eiri's ear, "You think my stupidity's cute, don't you Ei-ri-kun?"

Eiri's eyes immediately snapped open and he sat up in bed. Shuichi went flying off the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump. When Yuki looked up Eiri was staring at him wide eyed, "Let… Let's go for that walk."

"Sure Eiri, I… I'll just wait out in the living room." Yuki quickly left the room and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the bedroom door closed Eiri buried his head in his hands. That name… that name, in mere seconds had sent him over six years into the past. Only one person in his life had ever called him "Eiri-kun", it had always been "Eiri-san" or "Yuki-sensei", or in Shuichi's case, just plain "Yuki". This was the most confused he had ever been and he had no idea what to do about it.

Sighing, the writer braced himself on his arms and stared at the ceiling trying to reorganize his thoughts. He was just about to get out of bed when something landed in his lap, and this time it wasn't a vocalist. Looking down, Eiri discovered the mystery object was a framed photograph of he and Shuichi. The writer gingerly lifted the photo and stared at it in awe then turned toward the nightstand on Shuichi's side of the bed. He had been absolutely sure that the picture had been sitting there when he went to bed last night, there was no way it could jump from the other side of the bed right into his lap, could it?

Shaking his head, he set the picture back on the nightstand and put the strange experience out of his mind as he got dressed and left the room. Sure enough, Shuichi was sitting on the couch waiting for him. The boy leap up as soon as the writer entered the room, "Are you ready to go, Eiri?"

Eiri stared at the vocalist, he seemed to be back to his normal, energetic self, _'Maybe I just imagined him calling me that, maybe the stress of yesterday is still getting to me.' _While he'd been thinking, Shuichi had latched onto his arm and was currently dragging him towards the door, "Will you stop pulling me, brat? I can walk on my own."

Yuki just grinned up at him, "Of course I know that, but you're taking too long."

"Why are you in such a rush anyway? It's just a walk, it's not like we're going anywhere specific."

"You'll see!" Yuki replied as he pulled the writer out of the apartment.

Shuichi watched them leave. His eyes had nearly falling out of his head when he had watched Yuki come onto Eiri like that. He was about to throw Eiri's bedside ashtray at the imposter, when he'd noticed Eiri's reaction. What on earth had Yuki said to him? It wasn't very often Eiri looked that surprised and confused.

The writer had looked completely lost and Shuichi hadn't been surprised at all, hell, even he was confused by this whole situation, it was no wonder Eiri was confused as well. Shuichi had planned to put his plan into motion this morning but he just didn't have the heart to confuse Eiri anymore. He decided he'd just give Eiri a little reminder that he wasn't alone and then he'd wait until the two got back from their walk before he initiated his plan.

He he picked up the photo of Eiri and himself that was sitting on the nightstand and gently dropped it into the author's lap. He didn't wait to see Eiri's reaction before he disappeared from the room.

He reappeared in the living room where Yuki sat on the couch reading a music magazine, _'So that's how he learned to act like me… from now on, I'm not telling those interviewers anything but the basics.'_ Shuichi approached Yuki and brought his face down so he was staring his own body in the eyes. He knew Yuki couldn't see him nor could he hear him, but he met his eyes and spoke anyway, "I'm letting you be alone with him today, but I won't happen again. I don't know what you're planning to do to him this time, but you won't use my body to hurt him and I will make sure he knows who's who by the time this week is through. I hope you're prepared to lose."

Suddenly, Yuki snapped his head up and stood and for a moment Shuichi believed the man might have actually heard him, until he realized Eiri had just entered the room and that the two were now making their way out of the room. Shuichi watched them leave with a heavy heart, _'So what if he didn't hear me, he'll find out soon enough that he can't win Eiri's heart that easily.'_

_**To Be Continued…**_

_I just want to state again how sorry I am about not posting last Tuesday. I was just so stressed out that it completely slipped my mind what day it was until I got to work and I realized I hadn't posted chapter ten. +bows+ Please forgive me, minna! __I swear it was an accident. I hope this chapter makes up for it and I'll do my best not to post late ever again._

_Frozen Midnight_

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	12. A Not So Simple Walk

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I don't own Gravitation or any of its characters. They all belong to Maki Murakami and we all bow before her creative genius. +bows+_

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**_A Not-So-Simple Walk_**

Eiri and Yuki made their way through the park where Shuichi and Eiri first met. Eiri was eyeing the boy walking beside him suspiciously. He wasn't sure if he should tell Shuichi about the picture randomly landing in his lap this morning. He had initially planned this little outing to give him a chance to ask the singer if he'd been feeling strange lately, but now he wasn't so sure if he should mention it at all.

"Eiri, are you alright?" Yuki asked. It felt so strange to have to look up every time he wanted to see Eiri's face, in life he'd always had to look down. He also had to resist the urge to add '-kun' to the end of Eiri's name. He was determined not to slip up like that again.

"I'm fine Shu, I'm just thinking… something I'm sure you know nothing about." Eiri replied before he once again retreated into his thoughts.

Yuki saw an opportunity to attack and gladly took it. Without another thought, he leapt on Eiri, wrapping his arms around the novelist's neck and aggressively pressed their lips together. Needless to say, Eiri wasn't quite expecting the attack and opened his mouth in shock, which gave Yuki the perfect opportunity to molest the writer's mouth with his tongue.

Without even thinking about it, Eiri's arms closed around the singer's waist, his eyes fluttered shut, and he was swept away in the sensations of the kiss. Shuichi had never kissed him like this before, his kisses has always been sweet and hesitant at first until _Eiri_ deepened them and only then did the singer let himself go. This kiss, however, was forceful and hot, and so very different, but it felt too good and Eiri couldn't bring himself to pull away.

As the kiss grew longer, one of Yuki's hands found its way from the writer's neck, down the blonde's perfect chest and torso, and into the novelist's pants to close around his erect member. This caused Eiri to groan aloud and then practically growl, "Let's go home, right now!"

"No!" Yuki yelled back, a little too quickly. There was no way he was going to take the change of the real Shuichi catching him breaking the rules. It was then he realized that his response might lead Eiri down a road of suspicion, and immediately recovered, "I mean, no, we always do it at home, let's do something a little more exciting today. Let's go to a hotel Eiri, a really really nice one… please?" He finished is as innocent a plea as he could manage and moved his hand quickly against Eiri.

The writer needed no further prompting and immediately grabbed the singer's wrist and dragged him out of the park and towards the nearest five-star hotel, which, thankfully was only a block away. They barged into the lobby and right up to the front desk. Eiri quickly demanded the penthouse suite and waited impatiently for the clerk to slide his credit card and hand him the room key.

As soon as key and credit card hit his hand, Eiri proceeded to drag Shuichi to the private penthouse elevator and throw the little singer inside. No sooner had the elevator doors closed then Eiri had Shuichi pressed between him and the wall. He eagerly kissed and sucked on the small singer's neck as his hands roamed up underneath the boy's shirt to tease his already hard nipples.

Yuki found himself panting against Eiri's neck. The hand that had previously been in the writer's pants found it's way there again but didn't delve inside. Instead it deftly began unbuttoning and unzipping said pants. Meanwhile the novelist was pulling Shuichi's legs up to lock around his waist.

Just then the elevator dinged signaling they had arrived at the penthouse suite. Yuki once again wrapped his arms around Eiri's neck and kept his legs firmly latched around the writer's waist. Eiri walked as quickly as possible towards the door and fumbled with getting the room key in the slot, having Shuichi rubbing against him wasn't exactly helping his concentration any either.

As soon as the door opened he practically leapt inside and quickly slammed the door behind them. The couple wandered around, kissing passionately, until they finally found the master bedroom. They quickly went inside and locked the door behind them. Making their way over to the bed, Eiri quickly deposited Shuichi onto the mattress and climbed on top of him.

Hooking his fingers under the fabric of Shuichi's shirt, Eiri slowly began to slide the garment up the boy's torso, kissing the taut skin as he went. He lingered briefly when he reached the singer's belly button, taking the time to swirl his tongue in the small indent, which elicited a soft little gasp from the boy.

The shirt and Eiri's lips slowly made their way up Shuichi's torso to finally expose the vocalist's chest. Eiri took the opportunity to linger here as well, gently kissing, licking, biting and sucking the pert, dusky-pink nipples he found there.

By this point Yuki had lost all semblance of control over Shuichi's body. The reactions Eiri was drawing out of him were unbelievable and he idly wondered where the hell his Eiri-kun had learned how to do this. It wasn't until the offending shirt was finally lifted over his head and Eiri's lips found his in an achingly gentle kiss that Yuki finally realized that Eiri was such a good lover because it was Shuichi he was making love to. _'Is it possible that Eiri-kun really does love Shindou? Could I be the one that's wrong here?'_

Yuki was quite literally jerked from his thoughts when he felt something rubbing his groin. Chancing a glance down his body he realized that while he'd been preoccupied with his thoughts, Eiri's hand had ventured into his pants and was stroking him in a quick, steady rhythm.

Suddenly it all became clear to Yuki, that sweet, gentle, loving kiss had just been Eiri's way to distract Shuichi from what he was doing and no doubt it worked on the boy every time.

'_Eiri-kun doesn't love Shindou, he just loves the boy's body. I guess I might as well use that to my advantage, let's see just how hot and bothered this body can make you, Eiri-kun.' _Yuki thought maliciously. He quickly gathered his control, which was not an easy task with Eiri's hand still in his pants, and looked up at the writer with what he hoped was a sweet and innocent gaze, "Eiri?" he questioned quietly.

Eiri abruptly stopped all movement and looked down at the singer beneath him, Yuki could see the lust shining in those golden eyes but there were two other emotions there too. One was fear, but fear of what? The other emotion Yuki didn't have time to figure out before Eiri climbed off and lay beside him. The writer's arms slowly came around his waist pulling him securely against the blonde's chest, "It's alright Shuichi, we'll stop now, just sleep."

Yuki was stunned to say the least. What the hell was this? Did he utter some strange code word that Shuichi used when he didn't want sex? The Eiri he'd watched through the years had never stopped when asked, unless threatened with jail, then again, no one had ever really asked him to stop. Yet all Shuichi Shindou had to do to cool Eiri's over-active libido down was utter his name in a quiet, unsure tone of voice, what the fuck?! _'I guess I'm going to have to do a bit more research about Shindou-kun. Maybe his co-workers will have a few answers, I guess it won't be such a pain in the ass going to that studio after all.'_

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_I know what you were all thinking… you thought you were going to get a full on lemon didn't you? Tsk, tsk, tsk… after only getting three reviews for last chapter, I was too disappointed to write a lemon. Though this is the first attempt at anything sexual in any of my fanfics, so I really need reviews on what you thought of it… and if my attempt wasn't a complete failure maybe I'll give you the full lemon at the end of the story… maybe._

_Frozen Midnight_

_P.S.: Miss Ray, sorry I didn't send this to you to beta-read but I actually just wrote it this afternoon and I figured you probably wouldn't have time to read, edit, and send it back to me before the posting deadline._


	13. Can You Hear Me?

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I don't own Gravitation and I never will… the characters in this story belong to Maki Murakami, I only lay claim to the plot idea._

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Can You Hear Me?

Yuki awoke slowly, his eyes falling on the digital clock beside the bed that displayed the current time as eight o'clock am. Grumbling, he flipped over to wake Eiri, only to find a handwritten note where the blonde should have been.

_Brat,_

_Sorry I didn't stick around this morning, I had an early meeting with Mizuki about my new novel. Don't forget that you have to be at work by ten, I wouldn't put it past that crazed American to hunt you down here. If he damages the hotel room you're paying for the repairs._

_Eiri_

_P.S.: Don't worry about last night, it wasn't your fault._

_'Eiri-kun is so cold these days.' _Yuki thought as he folded up the note and put it in his pants' pocket. He was slightly annoyed when he discovered that he was still wearing the same pants he'd been wearing the day before, and was even more annoyed that they hadn't been taken off the night before. Sighing he stood from the bed and picked his shirt up from where it had landed the night before.

He made his way to the door and paused, the note's final sentence piquing his curiosity, _'I wonder what he meant by it not being my fault. I guess I'll have to drill Shindou's coworkers for the information.'_ Determined to find out what secret Shindou was hiding, Yuki quickly headed to the lobby and checked out of the hotel. Once outside, he hailed a taxi and was soon on his way to NG Studios.

Meanwhile, Eiri was sitting in a nearby café chatting with his editor. Or at least, Mizuki was chatting to Eiri. The author kept glaring at the wall just behind her and didn't seem to be paying attention to anything his editor said. Finally Mizuki had had enough, "Eiri-san, perhaps we should have this meeting at another time… perhaps when your brain decides to move back into your body?"

Eiri seemed to snap out of his trance. He looked at Mizuki in shock for a moment before sighing, "Everything just seems very wrong lately." He stated more to himself than to her.

"Is something wrong with Shindou-san?" She asked, her voice losing its annoyed edge and trading it in for concern.

"What the hell makes you think it had anything to do with that brat?"

"Eiri, I've known you for years. Before Shuichi came into your life, nothing seemed to affect you, no matter how terrible it was, and if something did rattle you, you never showed it to the public. Most stressful things continue to roll right off your shoulders just like they always have, but it seems like whenever something's wrong with Shuichi, you just can't hide your concern."

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with Mizuki, Shuichi's fine. I will however take you up on your offer to reschedule this meeting." Eiri pushed his chair back and stood.

Mizuki nodded and stood as well, "Alright Eiri-san, we'll meet here sometime next week. Once I get back to my office I'll check my schedule and call you with the specifics." Eiri nodded slightly then began making his way towards the door. He hadn't taken more than five steps when Mizuki's voice stopped him, "Please remember Eiri that I'm not just your editor, I like to think of myself as your friend as well. Should you and Shuichi need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Eiri looked back over his shoulder at her smiling face and couldn't help smiling slightly himself, "Arigatou, Mizuki." With that he left the café.

It was a beautiful spring day so Eiri decided to walk back to the apartment. It wasn't very far away and he found himself standing outside his apartment complex within minutes. He was just about to head into the building, when some unknown compulsion forced him to look up at his own apartment's windows and he immediately saw a Shuichi shaped shadow moving around in the living room. He quickly made his way inside and towards the elevator, more than a little annoyed, _'That stupid brat, I told him to go to work so what does he do? He comes back home so that when K comes looking for him, it's the apartment that gets damaged instead of the hotel room.'_

The elevator dinged open and Eiri made his way towards the apartment door, pulling his keys out on the way. To further his annoyance, the door was unlocked even though he was constantly telling the singer to lock it whether he was home or not. Opening the door and fully prepared to smack the pink-haired baka, Eiri was slightly surprised when he didn't see the singer in the living room.

Making his way further into the apartment, Eiri heard Shining Collection, the song he had written about Shuichi, coming from the stereo. The song soon ended and it was in the following silence that a piano could be heard playing a much slower version of Glaring Dream. Only Shuichi knew there was a piano version of that song and only Shuichi could play it. It had never been recorded which would mean that the playing was coming from the study where Shuichi housed his keyboard and computer equipment.

The writer quietly made his way toward the study door and peered inside. The keyboard was against the far wall, keys facing the door. Eiri almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, the keys were moving but no one was playing them and Eiri knew for a fact that this wasn't a self-playing keyboard. He pushed the door open further and it bumped quietly against the wall, the playing immediately stopped.

Eiri walked cautiously up to the instrument and hit a few of the keys himself. The keyboard was obviously plugged in. He started pushing all the buttons, hoping he could make the song play on it's own, he couldn't. It was then that he heard the bedroom door close. He raced out of the room and down the hall, throwing the bedroom door open when he reached it. The room was completely empty.

He was sure he'd seen Shuichi's silhouette in the living room window and he knew he'd heard the bedroom door close. Unfortunately, what he knew and what he saw didn't seem to want to cooperate today. There was only one way out of the apartment and only one way out of the building, Shuichi couldn't have gotten past him without being seen unless he used K's method of leaping out the window and since all windows seemed to be intact and locked from the inside, he dismissed that idea.

There was nowhere in this room for the singer to hide either. The closet doors were wide open, no singer there. The boy couldn't fit in any of the drawers or under the bed, that fact had been proven the last time he and Ryuichi had decided to play hide-and-seek in the apartment.

Completely confused and slightly irritated, Eiri sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. After a few moments, he moved his hands to the bed leaned back, eyes focused on the ceiling. Then his hand bumped something on the bed. He turned to look at the offending object, only to find his silver lighter glinting innocently back at him and Shuichi's smiling face beaming up at him from within the print club sticker adhered to the metal object.

This seemingly innocent item, only furthered Eiri's confusion. He had smoked a cigarette on the way to the apartment from the hotel. He had lit it with the lighter and then put the lighter back in the left front pocket of his pants. There was no way it could have magically jumped out of his left pocket and landed on the right side of the bed.

Eiri closed his hand around the lighter and brought it up to examine it. It looked like certainly looked like his lighter and a quick examination of his left pocket proved it to be empty. He glanced again at the lighter, then around the room, then back to the lighter. His eyes moved around the room again, landing on the framed photo that had thrown itself into his lap this morning. He thought of the incident at the restaurant the night before, he had been sure he felt one of Shuichi's kisses land on his lips even though Shuichi was in the bathroom.

The keyboard too, he had definitely seen the keys moving and the music had stopped immediately when Yuki had made his presence known. The song wasn't ever recorded, not even on the keyboards pre-set keys, and only one person in the world knew that version of Glaring Dream even existed and only that person could play it.

Eiri stared through the bedroom door and down the hall into the living room, lighter still clutched in his hand and only one thought echoing through his mind, _'What the hell is going on here?'_

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_I know, I know… I thought Hiro and the others would be in this chapter too. I decided to devote an entire chapter (or at least most of a chapter) to Yuki's excursion at NG Studios, and I wanted you all to see what Shuichi was planning. So, what'd you think?_

_Frozen Midnight_

_Miss Ray, I'm sorry once again for not writing this early enough to let you edit it. My muse decided not to come back from vacation until this morning. I am e-mailing it to you anyway, just in case. If you manage to get to it before 3:00, great… if not, oh well… I'm sure the readers can over look a few errors, ne?_


	14. You Can't Stop Me

_**Disclaimer****: **I'm sure you're as sick of reading this as I am of writing it, but I really can't afford to be sued right now so… I don't own Gravitation, I never have owned it and never will. The character were not my creations but the product of Maki Murakami's wonderful imagination… I'm merely a humble fan paying her homage._

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**_You Can't Stop Me_**

Yuki's taxi pulled up to the front entrance of NG Studios a minute or two before nine o'clock. After paying the driver, he got out and made his way into the building. The security guard nodded in greeting as he made his way towards the elevators. If he remembered correctly, the schedule Shuichi had posted on the refrigerator at the apartment had said Bad Luck was using Recording Studio 10. Now all he had to do was figure out where the room was.

He was sure it wouldn't look too suspicious if he stopped and consulted the studio map but he didn't want to take the chance. Shindou may seem a bit scatterbrained but he may know this studio like the back of his hand and if that were the case, nothing would look stranger to the people that knew him than his getting lost in a building he knew so well. So, instead of stopping directly in front of the building map, he merely slowed down slightly as he went by it and used his peripheral vision to locate the floor Studio 10 was on.

Having fixed the floor number in his mind, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the appropriate button labeled '12'. He may not know the exact location of the studio, but he was sure he could wander around the twelfth floor until he found it, he was early anyway and he doubted the real Shuichi was early for anything.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop when it finally reached the correct floor. The doors slid open to reveal, much to Yuki's disappointment, Studio 10 was right across the hall. He couldn't very well wander the floor now, if he did and Shuichi did in fact know this building well, he would just raise more suspicion. Sighing he walked towards the studio and opened the door. Apparently he was the first to arrive, _'Good, this will give me some time to figure out an excuse for being early.'_

Meanwhile, in a nearby meeting room, Hiro and the other associates of Bad Luck were talking. "Are you sure about this, Nakano-kun?" Sakano asked.

"I'm absolutely positive, the person that left that hospital room was _not _Shuichi." Hiro replied

"Well, if it wasn't Shuichi, then who was it?" Suguru queried.

"That's the thing… I'm not entirely sure who it was, but I know it wasn't Shu. I have a theory as to who it may be, but I don't want to tell Eiri until I'm sure. I was hoping you guys would be willing to help me find out."

An evil look came over K's face, "I'm in."

"K, you can't shoot him or even physically harm him." Hiro stated.

"Aww, why not? Shuichi's always been able to survive before."

"I know, but we don't know what will happen if you shoot Shuichi's body while someone else's soul is in it. What happens if he dies and Shuichi can't come back? Do you really want to explain _that_ to Eiri?"

K sighed and put his guns away, "No."

"Maybe we should bring Tatsuha in on this." Suguru suggested.

"Why?" Hiro asked.

"He is a monk, isn't he? Maybe he can banish the spirit that's in Shindou's body and call the original soul back."

"That's a good idea, but I think we should save it as a last resort. First I want to find out who this imposter is and what he wants. So, for now, let's just focus on interrogating him when he gets to the studio."

Everyone around the table nodded and stood. As a group, the made their way down the hall to Studio 10 to wait for Shuichi's arrival. When they opened the door however, they were shocked to find the pink-haired singer sitting on a chair waiting for them. The group immediately stepped back into the hall and closed the door.

Suguru was completely stunned, "We had a ten o'clock rehearsal this morning, right? And Shindou is always at least thirty minutes late, right?"

K and Hiro could only nod silently, and Sakano was already unconscious.

"It's nine thirty, why is Shindou here?"

Hiro was first to regain his voice, "I told you… I told you that wasn't Shuichi."

K was next, "What am I going to shoot this morning?"

Surguru ignored the latter and turned towards Hiro, "I thought you were crazy before, but now I get it… you're right, that's not the Shindou Shuichi we know… nothing short of Eiri being here could make him early for a rehearsal and it's obvious that Eiri isn't here. What's your plan Hiro?"

Hiro motioned for everyone to gather around him. The four men, including the now conscious Sakano, quickly made their plans and once again turned toward the door of Studio 10. The immediately rushed in and pinned Shuichi to the wall, Hiro's face mere inches away from the boy's own, "Who are you and what have you done with Shuichi?"

"Wh… what are you talking about? Is this because I was early? Eiri gave me a ride this morning." Yuki replied meekly. He knew Shindou's friend suspected something was up, but he didn't think he'd be so violent about it.

"That's bullshit, Eiri never gives Shuichi a ride to work, ever. He doesn't like dealing with Tohma and the one time he tried to give Shuichi a ride in, Tohma saw his car on the security monitors and wouldn't let him leave for four hours. Eiri hasn't driven Shuichi to work since. Now, I'll repeat my question, who the hell are you and what the hell did you do to Shuichi?"

"If I were you, I'd answer the man." K stated even as he pointed a small five and a half inch revolver at the boy's head.

"What the hell is that thing? A squirt gun or something?" Yuki asked, regaining some of his courage upon seeing the laughably small weapon.

K grinned, "Nope, it's not a squirt gun. I bought this off of a friend of mine who said it was passed down through his family for generations. Apparently, one of his great-great-great-great-grand relatives got it off of a famous Buddhist monk. Since you're a spirit, you should cower from it since it won't hurt Shuichi's body but it'll sure as hell destroy your soul. This here's a banishing gun.(1)"

Yuki's eyes widened and all courage left him, "Fine, fine, you win. I'm not Shuichi Shindou. Shuichi met me in the spirit void while he was in a coma and volunteered his body to me so he could prove a point. My name's Yuki Kitazawa, Shindou made some revelations about my actions towards Eiri in the past and told me I could borrow his body for a week so that I could see whether or not Eiri loves Shuichi."

Hiro's grip on Yuki's throat tightened slightly and his angry glare intensified, "Shuichi suggested this?" At Yuki's weak nod, the guitarist's grip loosened and he turned away and headed for the door.

Suguru called out to him, "Hiro! Where are you going?! Aren't you going to do something about this?"

Hiro stopped but didn't turn around, "Shuichi's once told me what he'd do if he ever met the ghost of Yuki Kitazawa and I believe that he gave Yuki his body for a week. I'm sure Shuichi knew what he was doing and I won't kick Yuki out of his body until that week is up, but he's not Shuichi and I refuse to work with him. I'm going home, you don't need the guitar track until the end of the week anyway. Record Shuichi's voice and Suguru's keyboard today and I'll do the guitar part when this is all over." With that he left the studio and the building.

He felt a bit guilty having lied to K and the others, he had absolutely no intention of going home. However, he had no choice, he couldn't let Yuki know where he was really going. He made his way over to his motorcycle and quickly hopped on, revving the engine and tearing out of the parking lot in the opposite direction of his apartment, headed straight toward Shuichi and Eiri's apartment.

**To Be Continued…**

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_So, what'd you think? Next chapter we'll get to see a lovely chat between Hiro and Eiri… hmm… I wonder what they'll talk about? I'm sorry if this chapter isn't quite up to par but I wrote it in a bit of a rush. I had meant to finish it up yesterday, but I was rather sick and ended up sleeping most of the day. I hope you can all forgive me and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review! Oh yeah and the (1) above is Genjou Sanzo's banishing gun from Gensoumaden Saiyuki (because I love Sanzo and couldn't resist)._

_Frozen Midnight_

_P.S.: I just wanted to answer a very good question asked by one of my reviewers last chapter._

_**Kuramas-aqua-queen: **__Why isn't Shuichi making himself visable?_

_**Frozen Midnight: **__There is a specific reason why Shu hasn't shown himself to Eiri and it will be addressed in a later chapter. The reason Kitazawa could see him in the restaurant was because Kitazawa is currently residing in Shuichi's body and therefore can see Shuichi when Shu is feeling extremely worried or jealous._


	15. The Truth Revealed

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I don't own Gravitation or any of its characters. They belong solely to Maki Murakami._

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**_The Truth Revealed_**

Eiri was jolted from his thoughts by a loud knocking coming from the front door. He slowly got up and made his way towards the noise. He was stunned speechless to find Nakano Hiroshi on the other side of the door, "What do you want?"

"Where's Shuichi?" was Hiro's only response.

"What the hell do you mean 'Where's Shuichi'? Shuichi's at work and isn't that where you're supposed to be too?" Yuki replied sarcastically.

Hiro shook his head and pushed his way into the apartment and surveying the rooms he could see, "The person at NG isn't Shuichi which means the real Shuichi is somewhere near you."

"What are you talking about?" All sarcasm was now gone for Eiri's voice as he too surveyed his apartment.

"When Shuichi woke up in the hospital, I was the first person he saw. He looked at me like I was a complete stranger, even after he said my name; he continued to look at me like he'd never met me before in his life. There's no way Shuichi would look at me like he'd never met me and yet look at Tohma and you like he'd known you forever, unless he wasn't Shuichi.

"At first I dismissed it as a strange side-effect of his being in a coma, but once I got back to my apartment, I started to put the pieces together. When you were in a coma Shuichi went after you because Kitazawa Yuki was trying to make you follow him. Shuichi once told me he had a theory about Kitazawa and that there was something he'd want to do if they ever met.

"Just what are you trying to say, Hiro?" Eiri's voice was still level but it contained traces of worry and fear.

Hiro turned around and looked Eiri straight in the eye, "Shuichi gave Yuki Kitazawa his body."

"Why would he do that?"

"Shuichi did it because he loves you. He knows you're haunted by guilt over Kitazawa's death and over the fact that you killed the person you loved most. He also knows that Kitazawa loved you back. Shuichi's giving you the chance to be with Kitazawa as if New York never happened. He's putting his existence on the line to try and free you from your past. If you want to put it dramatically, Shuichi made a deal with the devil to save your soul."

"How long?" Eiri asked, still completely stunned.

"For a week, according to Kitazawa. I suggest you use this opportunity to settle your feelings for both Shuichi and Kitazawa. Shuichi may be stronger than he looks and damned determined when he wants to be, but he can't keep giving everything he has to you while being overshadowed by your memory of Kitazawa, just keep that in mind. I'm assuming you'd like to be alone now, to think about things before Kitazawa gets back, so I'll head back to my apartment."

"Thanks Hiro, for telling me all this, I thought I was losing my mind."

"You're welcome." With that the guitarist headed towards the door, but stopped with his hand on the door knob and turned back to the writer, "You're very lucky, Eiri, to have someone who loves you more than himself, try not to lose him." Then he left Eiri alone.

Eiri was still in shock from all that he'd been told. The logical part of him wanted to scream at him for even humoring the idea that such a thing was possible. The rest of him however, couldn't deny what was happening, what had happened. He had known all along that the Shuichi he had been seeing the past few days, wasn't the real Shuichi, but he hadn't wanted to admit to himself what that meant. He was terrified of facing Kitazawa again, of facing these new revelations about what had really happened on that fateful night in New York. Or maybe it wasn't fear of Kitazawa but a fear of something far worse… a fear of something Eiri didn't dare put into words.

**_To Be Continued…_**

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_I know it's short and I apologize, but I needed to stop it here because I want the next series of events to have their own chapter (which should end up longer than this one). By the way, I'm currently working on making an AMV that sorta, kinda goes along with this fic, but I'm having a bit of trouble finding clips of Shuichi singing in the anime that don't contain subtitles (even the English dub has them)… if anyone happens to have a clip of The Rage Beat concert without subtitles… I'd be very happy if you could help me out. I will of course be posting the link to the AMV on the chapter it belongs to once it's finished. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll review… and I apologize once again for it being so short._

_Frozen Midnight_

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	16. The World Shatters

_**Disclaimer**__**:**_ _Sadly, I don't own Gravitation or any of it's characters (though I really would love to own my very own Eiri… that'd be nice) they all belong to Maki Murakami-sama. (Can you imagine how very entertaining I could make Gravi if I did own it though? Oh the possibilities.)_

* * *

**_The World Shatters_**

When Yuki returned to the apartment around nine o'clock at night, he expected to find Eiri locked in his study working on a story. Imagine his surprise when he opened the apartment door to find the writer sitting on the floor of the entryway, his back propped up against the far wall, his arms casually resting on his bent knees and his eyes locked on the door. What was even more surprising was when Eiri immediately stood up, grabbed his wrist and dragged him back towards the elevator he had just recently exited.

His shock seemed to subside as soon as the elevator door closed and he eyed Eiri worriedly. As soon as they were inside the metal contraption, Eiri had instantly cut off all physical contact and now stood as far from him as he could, "Did I do something to upset you Eiri? If I did, I'm really sorry, it's no reason to kick me out. "

There was silence for a few more moments before the elevator doors dinged open and Eiri dragged him outside of the building. Yuki was expecting Eiri to immediately let go and leave him out there, but it never happened. Eiri continued to hold his wrist and drag him toward some unknown destination. He thought about protesting or questioning Eiri further but it seemed the blonde was determined to get where he was going, so Yuki decided to wait and see where that was.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Eiri finally stopped and turned to look at the imposter Shuichi, "This is where I met him." He stated, meeting Yuki's eyes.

"Met who? Eiri, what's wrong with you? Where are we?" Yuki asked, he was beyond confused at the moment.

"'Where are we?' You mean you don't know, _Shuichi_?"

The sarcastic emphasis Eiri put on his lover's name made Yuki wince, the writer knew that he wasn't Shuichi, "How long have you known?" there was no point in denying it, that would only serve to put Eiri in an even worse mood than he was in already.

"I've suspected it all along. At first, I just thought you were possessing Shuichi every now and again, and I dismissed it as harmless. Then today, some strange things happened in the apartment. I heard things that could only have been caused by the real Shuichi. Then Hiro showed up and confirmed my suspicions. You're not Shuichi Shindou, you're Yuki Kitazawa and that's why you have no idea where we are right now."

Yuki just sighed, "So I've been found out, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to do what Shuichi wanted me to do, I'm going to talk to you and get to the bottom of a few things."

"Alright, let's talk then."

As the two slowly made their way out of the park, a guitarist on the other side of town was making a startling discovery.

Upon arriving back at his own apartment, Hiro made his way over to his bed and sat down, pulling a small tape recorder out of his pocket. When they were younger, he and Shuichi had been big fans of all things paranormal. He was hoping he'd be able to catch the real Shuichi's voice on the tape, as some paranormal researchers believed ghosts could speak through electronic devices. He had pressed record the moment he had stepped into Eiri's apartment but hadn't told the writer what he was doing, in case it didn't actually work.

Reaching into a nearby drawer, he pulled out a set of headphones and plugged them into the recorder then placed them over his ears. Cranking the recorder's volume up as high as it would go, he quickly rewound the tape and pressed play.

Sure enough, not two minutes into the play back Hiro could clearly make out Shuichi's voice. The sound was faint, but it was there. Ripping the headset off and rewinding the tape again, Hiro took it out of the recorder and popped the small cassette into a larger tape deck he had hooked up to his computer. Opening the editing software normally reserved for Bad Luck's music, he called up the cassette's recording and went about the grueling task of editing it.

First he removed his and Eiri's voices and then he removed all background noise until only the faint whisper of his friend remained. After enhancing the volume of the clip as much as he could, then he dialed the computer's volume as much as possible and hit play.

Sure enough, the pink-haired singer's voice echoed from the speakers at a normal speaking volume just as clear as if the boy were standing right in front of him, "Hiro, I really hope you brought that recorder with you. I've had no one to talk to for days. Listen Hiro, I don't think I have much energy left. I think… I think I'm fading. When I first became a ghost, I didn't look any different from the rest of you… none of you could see me, but I looked just as solid as any of you. Then I started trying to let Eiri know I was with him, and I started fading.

"If I were a normal ghost, like Kitazawa, I don't think doing things like that would've effected me, but they did Hiro. I've been separated from my body too long. I think I have just enough energy left in me to get back into my body when the time comes, believe it or not it's equivalent to the amount of energy it takes me to move an object. I need you to go tell Yuki I need my body back as soon as possible. Make sure he knows I'm not breaking our agreement

"He can still borrow my body for a few more days, but I just need a few hours back in it. I don't know what'll happen to me if I use all my energy… I'm afraid I'll cease to exist. I'm not really dead so I can't go to heaven or hell or wherever spirits go when their bodies die. I'm scared Hiro, I don't want to leave Eiri alone. Please, tell Yuki to let me back in for an hour or two."

As soon as the voice issuing from the speakers stopped, Hiro shot out of his computer chair and darted out of the apartment. Jumping on his bike, he could only pray he reached Yuki in time, "Don't you dare do anything stupid before I find him, Shuichi, I'll never forgive you if you stop existing."

Unbeknownst to Hiro, Eiri and Yuki weren't very far from his apartment. The two had been walking and talking for almost an hour and Yuki was now more stunned than ever, "Shindou-kun was gang-raped?"

A look of pain crossed Eiri's features as he nodded curtly, "Yeah, that's why I stopped the other night. I want to make it clear that I never would have done any of that if I had known then that it was definitely you in Shuichi's body, but I stopped before going all the way because sometimes, when we're making love, Shuichi will freeze. He'll get hesitant and won't want to continue. I know that, at those times, if I asked him to let me continue he would let me without hesitation, no matter how scared he was."

Yuki stopped walking and stared at the author, "You really do love Shindou, don't you?"

Eiri nodded without hesitation, "Yes, I do… more than I've ever loved anyone else."

"I want you to know, I only borrowed Shuichi's body because of what you said."

Confusion clouded the writer's face, "What I said?"

Yuki nodded, "About a month ago, while Shindou was on tour with his band, you were sitting in your study staring at the picture of you and I together. For a while, you were just staring at it and I didn't have any idea what you were thinking about. Then you reached into your pocket and pulled out the lighter with the picture of you and Shuichi on it. You seemed to be studying them and comparing them. Then suddenly you said, 'There's a definite difference between you and Shuichi, sensei. He loves me and you didn't.'

"I don't know what you had been thinking that led up to that particular thought or why you choose to say that out loud, but when I heard you, my heart broke. It hadn't occurred to me before that moment that you actually thought I didn't love you. I did love you Eiri, I loved you more than anything and I still love you, but I don't think you ever really loved me the way you think you did. It's true, you looked up to me and trusted me and you may have even had a schoolboy crush on me… but you didn't love me.

"I don't blame you for killing me Eiri, you were doing what you were supposed to. You were protecting yourself from a monster, a wolf in sheep's clothing. My death was my own fault, not yours. Stop letting me haunt you and let Shuichi in. He loves you so much more than I ever did. I loved you enough to want you all to myself and to not let anyone else have you, but Shuichi… Shuichi loves you enough to let someone else make you happy because he doesn't think he can."

Then Yuki smiled and cupped Eiri's cheek in his hand, "Go home Eiri, and then next time you see this body, its rightful owner will be in it." He then let his hand drop and started crossing the street, he wanted to be away from Eiri when he gave Shuichi his body back, he was afraid if Eiri was there, he'd loose all his will to surrender to the singer.

He was half way across the street, when Eiri's voice called out to him, "Sensei, what can I do to let you leave happy?"

Yuki stopped and turned around a very sad smile on his face, "Could I trouble you for a goodbye kiss?" Eiri looked surprised for a moment before nodding slightly and making his way towards him, when they were a mere foot apart, Yuki looked up at him, "Close your eyes and just remember that you're not kissing me, you're kissing Shuichi Shindou, the man you love."

Eiri immediately closed his eyes and leaned forward, reminding himself that it wasn't really Kitazawa's lips he was kissing, it was Shuichi's… his Shuichi's.

Hiro sat on his motorcycle not two far from where this was happening. He had stumbled upon the couple a block back and they had seemed completely oblivious to him despite the fact that he seemed to be the only person on the road this evening. Stopping at a red light Hiro had overheard the pair's conversation. He watched as Eiri kissed Kitazawa and watched them break apart. He watched Kitazawa continue across the deserted street, the novelist watching him leave.

Hiro was just about to head home, satisfied with the way things had turned out, when a truck came barreling around the far corner of the street. The driver was obviously drunk out of his mind and didn't seem to notice Eiri standing in the middle of the crosswalk. The writer, for his part, seemed so lost in thought that he didn't notice the truck careening towards him either. Hiro's heart dropped, there was no way he or Kitazawa would be able to reach Eiri in time to save him. Shuichi would be devastated if he came back only to find Eiri dead and he'd never forgive himself for giving away the last few days he could've had with the one he loved.

The guitarist could only yell at the writer who seemed to snap out of his daze and finally realize the danger he was it. Hiro watched Eiri's eyes widen and watched the blonde brace himself for an impact that would surely claim his life. Suddenly, before anyone knew what had happened, Eiri was no longer in front of the truck but sprawled on his side on the pavement completely unharmed. Hiro threw off his helmet, climbed off his motorcycle and raced over to the novelist.

Yuki also watched with a dropping heart as the truck raced towards a helpless Eiri, but only he saw the shimmering form that pushed the writer out of the way and only he heard the singer's last wish echo in his mind even as the boy's spirit faded completely, _"Please, let Eiri be happy."_

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

_Is this long enough for you? Fear not, this story isn't over yet. What will Eiri and Hiro do when Yuki tells them what's happened to Shu? Will Yuki be able to fulfill Shuichi's last wish? Find out next week. And remember, if you kill me for leaving it there you'll have no one to write the next chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I've adequately repented for the short length and lack of drama in the last chapter. Please continue to appease my muse and review, review, review! I love hearing your comments and suggestions._

_Frozen Midnight_


	17. Loss

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ Once again, I don't own Gravitation or any of its characters so please don't sue me._

* * *

**_Loss_**

Eiri was still in shock from his close brush with death and Yuki was completely silent, staring at the place in the road where Eiri had been. Hiro sighed and pulled out his cellphone. He quickly dialed the number of a local taxi service he and Shuichi used whenever they went out drinking.

When the cab arrived, the guitarist ushered Eiri and Yuki inside and gave the driver directions to Eiri's apartment. He then hopped on his motorcycle once again and followed the taxi. They arrived at the apartment complex fifteen minutes later and the trio made their way up to the apartment.

Yuki quickly sat Eiri down on the couch while Hiro went into the kitchen to make tea for the group. Eiri simply sat there, staring straight ahead; Yuki leaned down to look him in the eye, "Eiri, are you alright? Were you hurt?"

Eiri seemed to snap out of his stupor, "Shu?"

Yuki shook his head slowly, "No Eiri, it's still Yuki."

"I want Shuichi back now sensei."

Hiro picked that moment to come back into the living room with a tray of tea, "Yuki, I agree with Eiri, Shuichi needs his body back… he doesn't have much energy left. He said he was fading, that he had just enough energy to go back into his body."

Yuki and Eiri both looked at the guitarist but it was Eiri that spoke, "Shuichi _said_ this? When the hell did you talk to him?"

Hiro sat down and shrugged, "Technically, Shuichi talked to me. When we were younger we were really into ghosts. We used to watch ghost shows all the time. When I figured out what was going on, I brought a voice recorder with me to your apartment… I was hoping Shuichi would talk into it but I didn't want to tell you what I was doing, incase it didn't work.

"Anyway, I went home after talking to you and I listened to the tape. I heard something, so I hooked it up to my computer and edited it so all I could here was Shuichi. He told me he needed his body back for a few hours at least. I came to tell you that when I stumbled upon the two of you talking. Since you're going to give Shuichi back his body now anyway, you might as well do it right now."

Yuki hung his head, "I can't." he said quietly

Eiri glared at him, "What do you mean 'you can't'? You said you'd give Shu back his body so do it."

"I can't! I've been trying since the accident and I can't! He's not there… he used the last of his energy to push you out of the way of that truck!"

Hiro stared in shock, "Shuichi…"

"Saved me?" Eiri finished.

Yuki nodded again, "I saw him push you, I watched him fade, and then I heard his voice in my head… he said 'Please, let Eiri be happy.'"

Eiri slammed his fist down on the coffee table, "Baka! How the hell am I supposed to be happy without you?! You stupid brat."

"He knew he was the only one that could save you, so he saved you." Yuki replied.

"Did he really cease to exist?" Hiro asked quietly.

Yuki looked at him, "I don't know, but I can try to find out. I'll keep trying to call him back, but that's all I can do for now."

Hiro nodded. Eiri stood up, brushed Yuki aside and headed for his bedroom without another word. He closed the door behind him, locked it, and collapsed on the bed. For the first time since the incident with Aizawa, Eiri Uesugi cried.

_**To Be Continued**_

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_So, how was it? Short, I know… sorry about that… things are a bit hectic here and will probably continue being hectic into next week. My dad's getting remarried this Saturday and there's going to be a lot of wedding stuff to take care of before and after the wedding. I'm not promising I'll have the next chapter up on schedule on Tuesday (just because if I can't find the time, I don't want to disappoint you all), but I will do my absolute best to get it posted on time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (short though it was) and I hope you review._

_Frozen Midnight_


	18. Calls Unheard

**_Disclaimer__: _**_I don't own Gravitation or any of its characters. They belong to Maki Murakami, I'm just burrowing them to appease my imagination… I have no intention of profiting from them._

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**_Calls Unheard_**

Yuki made his way through NG Studios for the umpteenth time. He could now find any room in the building from memory, without having to glance at the building map. Today he found his way all the way to the top floor and into the office of Tohma Seguchi. The infamous president of NG Studios had called an emergency meeting with Bad Luck… the fourth such meeting he'd called in the last month.

He had no doubt the topic of this meeting would be the same as it had been for all the others. Opening the door, he knew he was correct. Sitting in various places around the room was every person close to Shuichi Shindou, save one. Eiri was never present at these meetings, he was never present anywhere these days. He remained shut up in his bedroom or his study, refusing to come out if anyone was in the apartment with him.

As he entered, all eyes in the room turned to him with hopeful gazes. All he could do in response was once again shake his head in the negative, informing all present that he wasn't Shuichi, but Yuki Kitazawa. He was sick of having to watch that hope drain from their eyes for the millionth time. Every time anyone who knew the situation saw him, the held the same hope that maybe Shuichi was back where he belonged and Yuki would have to dash their hopes.

After Shuichi's spirit had vanished, Hiro and Yuki had decided to tell Tohma and the rest of Shuichi's friends and family, just in case they would have to learn to deal with this permanently. Tohma had decided to have a meeting every now and again so the group could brainstorm ways to bring the singer's wayward spirit back. So far though, they had made no progress.

"Please have a seat, Kitazawa-san." Tohma offered with his usual fake smile. He was the first to speak since Yuki had entered, but Yuki didn't take offense. This is how things were every time.

"Thank you Seguchi-san." He replied taking a seat near Tohma's desk.

"Have you been able to reach him yet?" Hiro asked from the seat next to him.

Yuki shook his head sadly, "No, not even a whisper. I've consulted everyone and anyone I can find who's associated with the paranormal and no one has a clue how to bring him back. Half of them didn't even believe it was possible for someone to be stupid enough to willingly give up their body."

"How is Eiri-san?" Tohma asked quietly.

"The same. I saw him yesterday but it was only because I was lying on the couch reading a book and he didn't realize I was there. As soon as he noticed me, he darted into his study and didn't leave it until I went to take a shower. I came out to find the study door open and the bedroom door locked. I can't blame him for not wanting to look at me."

"This must be very hard on him. For Shuichi to disappear just when Eiri's ready to finally admit his feelings for him." Maiko stated. She was the only member of Shuichi's family that would converse with Yuki at all. Yuki had gone to her asking her questions about Shuichi to try and figure out at way to bring him back and somehow they had become friends.

"He's not just avoiding Yuki, he's avoiding everyone. He should be sitting here helping us figure out how to bring Shuichi back to. Then again the bastard probably doesn't want Shuichi back. He's probably happily working on a new novel and doesn't even care."

"K, how can you say that?!"

"Rage, you can't tell me you aren't thinking it too."

"Well I…"

"He doesn't want to have to face all of you." Yuki chimed in quietly, "He blames himself, not just that, but he _knows_ it's his fault Shuichi's gone. None of us can tell him he's wrong either, because we all know he is at fault. He spent so much time working and living in memories of the past that he ignored Shuichi. He forced Shuichi's hand.

"Shuichi realized that if he wanted Eiri to admit he loved him, then Eiri needed to talk to me again, Eiri needed to lay me to rest in his heart and mind. Shuichi shouldn't have had to do that, Eiri should have been able to overcome my memory on his own, but he was too dependent on the emotional support of others, even when he didn't want to admit it."

"So the only person who can get Eiri out of his depression…" Tohma quested.

"Is the very person we can't find. The only person Eiri's going to believe is Shuichi himself and no matter how good of an act I put on, Eiri will know it's me eventually. We'll have to get save Shuichi in order to save Eiri." Yuki finished.

"But we still have no idea how to do that and Bad Luck's fans are starting to notice a difference in our performances. When the real Shuichi was with us, the energy at our concerts was unbelieveable, now it's a shadow of what it used to be." Suguru stated.

Silence veiled the room after that statement. They all knew it was true, sales for Bad Luck's last concert paled in comparison to past concerts. Tohma was the first to break the silence; "Perhaps we should put the band on hiatus until we can figure something out. At the very least I'll begin canceling tomorrow's concert."

"Don't cancel it." Yuki stated just as Tohma was lifting the phone to his ear.

Hiro stared at him, "What choice do we have? You may sound like Shuichi when you talk but you definitely can't sing like him and you don't know the words to half our songs. The fans are starting to talk."

"Shuichi loved his music almost as much as he loved Eiri, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"You just can't cancel this concert. I have one more thing to try before we give up, until then we can't let Shuichi's music fade. I need you to learn a new song before tomorrow's concert, it'll be the first one we sing and I promise, it's one I know all the words to. Can you do it?"

"We need the music, but yeah, we can probably learn it in time."

"Then here's the music. I have to do some more research so I make sure I do this right. I'll see you tomorrow!" After throwing the sheet music in Hiro's lap, Yuki ran out of the room. Leaving numerous stunned expressions behind him.

**_To Be Continued_**

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_I'm sorry about not posting last week… things were just way to hectic. I hope this chapter makes up for it. Read and review!_

_Frozen Midnight_


	19. A Song for Eiri

_**Disclaimer**__**: **__I don't own Gravitation (I wish I did though)… I'm merely borrowing it's characters._

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**_A Song for Eiri_**

Yuki stood outside the closed door of Eiri's study. He hadn't spoken to the author since the night Shuichi's spirit disappeared. He understood Eiri's depression and his guilt, but this had gone on long enough. Steeling his resolve, he knocked on the door, "Eiri, may I come in?"

There was no response other than the steady clicking of the keyboard. Sighing, Yuki tried the knob and wasn't surprised when he found it locked, "Eiri, please open the door, I need to talk to you about Shuichi."

No sooner had he said the singer's name then he heard the faint popping of the lock being disengaged and he found himself face to face with a very disgruntled Eiri, who was peering at him through a six inch crack in the door, "What about Shuichi?"

"I need you to come to Bad Luck's concert tonight."

"Why do you need me? I don't want to."

"Shuichi would move heaven and hell for you, if you asked him to. I know he loves Bad Luck and his fans, but I think you need to tell him you want him back."

"Are you sure he'll come back?" Eiri asked quietly.

"I wish I could say I was, but I'm not. This is just based on a theory and it's the only thing we haven't tried yet."

Eiri averted his eyes, "I can't face them."

"Shuichi's friends?"

"No, all of them, his friends, his fans… I took him from all of them."

Yuki sighed, "I guess you're right, after all, it is your fault Shuichi loaned me his body and he used all his energy to save your life. They all loved Shuichi much more than you do, of course you can't face them… forget I asked." He turned around to walk back into the living room, praying Eiri would take the bait. He wasn't disappointed.

Yuki had only taken a few steps when a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around pushing him back into the wall. He looked up straight into blazing golden eyes, "Don't you DARE say they love Shu more than I do! No one loves that brat more than me! "

"And everyone knows that Eiri. Hiro, Maiko, K, everyone… they all know that Shuichi's disappearance is hurting you more than anyone else. They understand. They also know that you're the only one with any chance of calling him back, which is why we need you there. Besides, the first song is the last song Shuichi wrote before he disappeared."

Eiri's grip loosened and his eyes lost their angry glare, "What song?"

"I found it in the pocket of the pants he was wearing the day he went into a coma to find you. I think he wrote it in the hospital before they induced the coma. I have Hiro and Suguru working on the music now. Are you going to be there?"

"If this doesn't work…"

"If it doesn't work then you'll at least get to hear the last song Shuichi wrote for you! You can't let guilt and fear eat away at you again, Eiri! Shuichi lent me his body so you could get rid of your guilt and pain, he'd never forgive himself if it caused you to feel guilty about something else."

Eiri sighed, "What time does it start?"

"Six o'clock. Don't stand in the crowd, go backstage… if this works, I have a feeling you'll want to be as close as possible to the performance."

"I'll go." Eiri grunted out before disappearing into his study once again. Yuki stood staring at the door for several minutes, he could only hope his plan would work. There was no telling what Eiri might do without Shuichi Shindou's presence in his life.

Meanwhile, Eiri was crumpled on the ground, his back against his study door, eyes focused on the floor underneath him. He too hoped Yuki could bring Shuichi back, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to function without the pink-haired idiot. 'Shu, if you can somehow hear my thoughts, please find a way back to me.' Sighing loudly, he stood up and went back over to his laptop, he still had five hours of working time before the concert and right now, work would be a welcomed distraction.

_**To Be Continued**_

* * *

_Short, I know. Next chapter will be the concert… what does Yuki have up his sleeve? Will Shuichi return? What will Eiri do if he doesn't? Tune in next week to find out -._

_Frozen Midnight_

_P.S.: Sorry, I couldn't post this on Tuesday… Fan Fiction was having a problem with their site and I couldn't login. I posted this as soon as I got home from work Tuesday night._


	20. Song Bird

_**Disclaimer**__**:**__ I don't own Gravitation or any of it's characters… they belong to Maki Murakami. Sadly, I make no money by writing these fics… I just do it for fun. Please, do not sue me._

* * *

**_Song Bird_**

Yuki stood backstage with Bad Luck and a large number of Shuichi's friends. He could see the hope in their faces… hope that his plan would succeed and that Shuichi Shindou would come back to them. He was forced to turn his face away, this whole situation was partly his fault and now all hope rested on him and his flimsy plan.

"So, you changed your mind and decided to do the special song last?" Hiro asked, breaking Yuki from his thoughts.

"Yes, I think it would be best to build the crowd up first." Yuki replied.

"Are you sure you can handle a full concert? All the other concerts we've done up till now have been pretty short and your singing isn't nearly as strong as Shuichi's." Suguru added.

"I'm not entirely sure, no, but Ryuichi-san has been coaching me so I should be able to make it through one full-length concert."

"Alright then, I guess it's time to hit the stage then, we've kept this crowd waiting long enough." Hiro said as he turned and walked towards the stage. He stopped short and waited for the announcer to introduce the band and call his name.

Suguru gave Yuki a slight smile before following Hiro and doing the same. Yuki sighed and slowly made his way through a line of Shuichi's friends each one giving him words of encouragement as he went.

"Pika pika Yuki-san! Shine bright so Shuichi can find you!" Ryuichi and Kumagoro chorused together.

"Please, please, please bring Shindou back!" Sakano pleaded desperately.

"We're ready to clear a path for Shuichi if necessary!" K and Rage yelled together from their perch atop a pile of rocket launchers and machine guns.

"I'm sure you can bring my brother back to us, Yuki-san." Maiko stated, giving him a warm smile as he passed.

Tatsuya, Noriko, and Mika said nothing but nodded to him as he passed them, and Tohma simply smiled and nodded as well. Just as he reached the edge of the stage he saw Eiri, lurking in the shadow of a stage curtain.

"Eiri, I promise I'll do my best to bring him back to you." Yuki stated before the other man could speak. Eiri simply nodded in response and turned towards the stage.

Yuki took a deep breath and gave the signal that he was ready to be announced. Shuichi's name was called and Yuki hit the stage to a wave of applause and screaming. The sound was almost deafening, but as soon as he touched the microphone the noise dwindled into silence. "Minna, thank you so much for coming to our concert tonight! Are you ready to rock?"

The crowd screamed loudly in response and Yuki nodded, "Alright then, let's hit it."

The band played all their songs with as much energy as they could. The Rage Beat, Spicy Marmalade, Blind Game Again, In The Moonlight, and Glaring Dream were all played perfectly and the crowd had never been so riled up before.

Finally, it came time for the last song. As Hiro and Suguru made final preparations to their instruments, Yuki said a silent prayer to Shuichi, 'Shindou, I don't know if you're still out there or not, but if you are… use this opportunity to sing your song to Eiri. Don't let him hear it in my voice, you wrote it, you had better come back to him and sing it. Don't leave him alone like I did, he recovered from losing me… I don't think he'd ever recover from losing you.'

He opened his eyes and looked at Hiro and Suguru receiving a nod from both that they were ready. Stepping up to the microphone once again, Yuki looked out through the crowd, "This song was written for Yuki Eiri…" the crowd screamed loudly at the author's name and Yuki waited for silence again before he continued, "this will be the last song of the night, it's called Itsumo Soba Ni… Always By Your Side."

The lights dimmed and Hiro began playing a slow guitar intro, then Yuki began to sing softly.

"_Nani mo iwazu ni sugu soba ni iru yo, __Donna toki mo, __Kanashii omoi wa sotto tsutaete yo, __Kiiteru kara_

"_Umaku iezu ni kimi o komarasete, __Shimau no nara, __Hitomi o tojite sotto yudanete yo, __Dakishimeru kara_

"_Sugite yuku kisetsu no naka de ima, __Kono mune ni tashika na mono wa hitotsu sa"_

As Yuki sang, he felt the strong energy of the crowd and of Shuichi's friends surrounding him and as he reached the chorus, another, stronger voice began to sing with him.

"_Anata o mamoru tame nara, __Nani hitotsu oshiku wa nai, __Donna itami de mo boku ga kawaru kara, __Zutto soba ni iru yo"_

Yuki smiled slightly and closed his eyes, he let the energy around him do as it willed. When it pulled at him, he willingly let it take him and as the song faded from his hearing, he smiled even more.

"_Kimi no kimochi ni kizukezu ni ita to, __Shitta toki wa, __Boku no chikara de dekiru koto subete, __Todoketai kara_

"_Itsu date kimi to hohaba awase, __Kore kara mo kawaranai omoi ga aru kara_

"_Dakishimeta sono nukumori ga, __Itsu made mo kienai you ni, __Koboreta namida wa boku ga nuguu kara, __Zutto soba ni iru yo_

"_Anata o mamoru tame nara, __Nani hitotsu oshiku wa nai, __Donna itami de mo boku ga kawaru kara, __Zutto soba de hohoendete_

"_Dakishimeta sono nukumori ga__, Itsu made mo kienai you ni, __Koboreta namida wa boku ga nuguu kara, __Zutto soba ni iru yo"_

As the last notes of the song faded, Eiri looked towards Shuichi's body. The boy's arms were clutched to his chest and his eyes were closed. The author watched with bated breath as those eyes opened and immediately turned in his direction. Amethyst locked with gold and for a few moments Eiri couldn't move or even breathe. Then suddenly he saw it, the warmth and love he had missed so much in those eyes and the smile he thought he'd never see again… Shuichi's smile.

Without thinking about the consequences, Eiri rushed on the stage and collapsed in the singer's arms, crying harder than he'd ever cried before. Shuichi lowered himself and the sobbing author down to sit on the stage floor and, ignoring the shocked crowd, wrapped his arms around the older man.

Eiri clung to Shuichi for dear life, unable to control his sobbing, "You… stupid brat… what would I have… never again…"

"Shh, it's alright Eiri, I'm back and I won't leave you again." Shuichi soothed as he kissed the top of the blonde's head and tightened his hold.

Shuichi's friends watched happily from backstage, glad that their friend had returned. Tohma gave a signal and the curtains closed slowly on the embracing couple. K and Rage saw to it that all the fans made an organized and hasty exit from the concert hall. Hiro leaned down to whisper something in Shuichi's ear to which the singer nodded but didn't look up. Then the guitarist ushered everyone else out of the building to leave the reunited couple in peace.

**The End**

**…Or Is It?**

* * *

_Sorry this wasn't posted yesterday, but I had a bit of a busy weekend and didn't really have time to write it until today. But, it's written now. This could conceivably be the end of the fic, but I'm willing to add another chapter or two if you want. Just leave a review and let me know if you want more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter._

_Frozen Midnight_

_PS: Here's the translation for Itsumo Soba Ni (which is from Ouran High School Host Club… it's Mori's image song). I borrowed the translation and romanization from Anime _

_Always By Your Side_

_Without saying anything, I'm right by your side _

_At anytime _

_Gently tell me your sad thoughts_

_Because I'm listening_

_If my inability to express things well_

_Troubles you_

_Then close your eyes and gently entrust me_

_Because I'll embrace you_

_Within the passing seasons, now_

_There is one certain thing inside of my chest_

_If it's to protect you_

_Then I won't regret a thing_

_Because I'll take any pain in your stead_

_I'll always be by your side_

_Because when I learn that_

_I didn't realize your feelings_

_I want to send to you_

_Everything that I can do in my power_

_I match my pace with you all the time_

_Because I have still an unchanging though now_

_So that the warmth of when we embraced_

_Won't ever disappear_

_I'll wipe away your spilling tears_

_I'll always be by your side_

_If it's to protect you_

_Then I won't regret a thing_

_Because I'll take any pain in your stead_

_Always smiling by your side_

_So that the warmth of when we embraced_

_Won't ever disappear_

_I'll wipe away your spilling tears_

_I'll always be by your side_


End file.
